Masonic Light March, 2012

Insights and Observations bhodwitz@gmail.com

Secrets and Mysteries

When I joined masonry, I was intrigued by the messages that confirmed that there wasspecial knowledge to be had after I was admittedto the mysteries and privileges of masonry. I was told that “the secrets of this, our masonicart . . . may hereafter be communicated to me.”

A question that every masonasks is, “What are the secrets that I must protect?”

First, to Clarify . . .

The ‘secrets’ are really not that special. Even if they are revealed, the cowan might wellreact with “so what?” The secrets meansomething to us because we experienced the context and we assign a value to the conceptsor actions. Like any gesture or expression, theimport is carried in the emotional or culturalintention projected by the action or symbol.

We care because we ‘were there’ when

the meanings were transmitted.

What is a Masonic Secret?

The first secret is the ballot of a Mason. No one can know how a Mason votes, unless that Mason tells him, and that is considered un-Masonic conduct. The right and privilege of casting a secret ballot is universally respected in this country by Masons and non-Masons alike.

Other secrets are:• The modes of recognition (signs and words);• The obligations or vows of each degree;• The manner of conferring the degrees, and;• The legend of the third degree.

These four items are usually considered to bethe “real” Masonic secrets. But we should allrealize that any interested party can go to thepublic library or bookstore [or Internet] and obtain books which reveal all these things.

So What Can We Say?

If information about masonry is so readilyavailable, then there is no point in thinking that we have to be secretive.

Masonry is not a secret society. Members of our lodges are not in any way forbidden fromtelling others that they are Masons. While everyMason should remember his obligations tosecrecy, yet we want to inform non-Masonsabout who we are, what we are, and what we do.

Our meetings are simple business meetings. We volunteer in the community, do charitableworks, and we care for members who are ill or in distressed circumstances.

We uphold moral standards of honesty andjustice, and we support and defend our own, but only if all is within the bounds of the laws of God and man.

Oath or Obligation?

Since we are required to abide by certainprinciples, we must be sure that we understand the meanings of the terms applied to thestatements we make.

The ‘oath’ is the “So help me, God” at theend of any solemn promise made with hand upon the Book of the Law. The ‘obligation’ is the substance of the preceding promises.

‘Oath’ is thus symbolical of man’s fear of God; while ‘obligation’ signifies the promisesand agreements made preceding the oath.

The Masonic Character

Masons are good people. The masonicexperience tends to focus the mind on positiveideals and to ‘shave off’ less desirable traits.

We have learned:

Talent is God-given. Be humble.

Fame is man-given. Be grateful.

Conceit is self-given. Be careful.

Masonic Light February, 2012 p.2

The Mysteries

Beyond wondering about the secrets, a second question that masons ponder is, “What are the mysteries?” The answer is simple, but disappointing:

We aren’t told. Think of your masonic education as preparing a vase, cask, or chalice that will receive a potion of magical properties. The more you learn and experience through

your attendance, instruction, and research, the better prepared you are to receive and contain the elixir.

But the journey is a preparation, not areward, much as meditation opens channels to greater insight but does not bestow hiddenknowledge.

This answer may not satisfy those who wishto be given ‘the truth’, but there is satisfaction to be had in becoming a worthy vessel.

And just as it is likely true that, “when thestudent is ready, the teacher will appear’, so toothe more prepared we are to receive and acceptenlightenment concepts, the more likely we are to understand them.

So we are seekers of light. We ‘receive’ only to the degree that we are willing to accept.And we experience only to the extent that wesearch for perceptions.

Our pilgrimage is aided by the company of our brothers but we alone choose how far we will go.

Being There

The lodge is a haven from the speeding world, and can be a place of contemplation and self-development if the meeting offersthose opportunities.

Many a man has discovered that masonry has changed him. Something has happened.We see ourselves and others differently.

Being with other masons, we resonate on a more humanistic level.

When together, we tend to be present in the moment, letting the outside world withdraw.

Echoing the same theme is the following, taken from the liner notes written by LeonWieseltier on Leonard Cohen’s CD, Songs fromthe Road.

The road is not a line between places; it is a place between places; a place of its own.

We are too enamoured of destinations. We hunger too much for arrival. We treat theroad as an interval between meanings, and so we are blinded to the richness of meanings anddispensations in the road itself.

Since we cling to a mainly instrumental viewof the road, we have forgotten how to betravelers and we are tourists instead, sitting stillbefore the window and watching the world speedpast, when in fact we are the ones who arespeeding and it is the world which is still, for those who possess the capacity for stillness.

If departure is the past and arrival is thefuture, then the road is the present, and there isnothing more spiritually difficult, or spirituallyrewarding, than learning to live significantly inthe present. This is accomplished by a schoolingin transience, and the road is such a school.

Almost as powerfully as the sea or the sky,the road is an emblem of immensity: the horizoninto which it disappears is the promise of a release. From the stretch of even the mostordinary road, you may infer a suggestion of infinity.