Spiritualism

Very early in life I was told by my family elders that my grand father was a Freemason and that he died very young leaving behind the widow and 5 children who were studying in school. The Lodge came to the timely help of the distressed family till the eldest son started earning. I was very impressed by what the Lodge had done. I took a liking for such an organisation and decided to join it when I grew up in order to help the needy.

Beyond this I knew nothing about Freemasonry. When the opporturnity came  I joined Freemasonry.

Contrary to what I thought before joining Masonry,  I saw that collecting and disbursing charity at the meetings were relegated to the bottom of the agenda and occupied no more than 2 minutes time. Discussions rarely took place on the issue. I had the preconceived notion that collections would be made and distributed to needy persons at meetings after meetings. Naturally I was led to believe  that there must be  something more to  Freemasonry and  I decided to find that out.  Brethren made   vague and unsatisfactory statements  like Freemasonry makes good men better, which  in my opinion was  too simple and told  nothing.  There were placed on the Altar the Holy Books of various religions, the Three Lights, the Square, the Compass, etc., and we were told that we should live our lives with the Holy Books as our guide and conduct ourselves within the boundary of the square and the compass. Our meeting places were referred to as  Temples,  Brethren were  said to be involved in a peculiar labor, and the name of the presiding deity varied from degree to degree. Yet we were  told that Freemasonry was not a religion or a religious body. There was something beyond my reasoning  and my curiosity was aroused.

Pranayams and Meditation had formed a part of my daily routine from a very young age and I had started feeling a faint energy on my finger tips whenever I visited a Lord Vishnu temple. Time and again I visited the temple just to experience this. Later on I learnt from elders that this energy is described in the Vedas and Upanishads as the energy generated by the spark of the Divine Life (Divine Agni or Divine Fire) present in every living being.  

Five or six years after I had joined Freemasonry, I  read a book by Bro. Leadbeater titled “The Hidden Side of  Freemasonry”. I was surprised to read Bro. Leadbeater write about the generation and circulation of spiritual energy within a tyled lodge and called the Lodge a temple.  He says that the peculiar labor engaged  by Brethren  in a Masonic Lodge refers to the collective duties performed by every brother in a disciplined and solemn manner to enable the generation and flow of the spiritual energy.  After reading the book I decided to attend Lodge meetings and verify if I could feel such energy. To my disbelief  I felt the energy in a Masonic temple as I would feel in a Lord Vishnu temple.  I was convinced that our Lodge is indeed similar to a holy temple for self and group realisation which  enables us to know about ourselves and our connection with God.  I got the answers  to elementary but important questions like - how  freemasonry makes good people  better, why  our  meeting places are  called temples and what is the peculiar labor that  brethren are  engaged in.

Speculative Freemasonry as we can understand is indeed speculative in nature and therefore it has taken me 25 years to tell or write  - what made me remain a Mason for all these years.  

As I was already convinced that our meeting places generated a spiritual aura which is there in a Lord Vishnu Temple, my quest should have concluded .On the contrary it only intensified. In addition to the Craft Lodge,  I had also joined other  Masonic  bodies like  -  Chapter, RAM, Conclave, etc.,   and as I was  exposed to their workings my interest was further kindled as  advancing in spiritual knowledge was very important to me.

I started taking a close look at the workings in the various bodies in Freemasonry and tried to understand their relation to the advances made by the spiritual energy in our body as described in several non-masonic books. To illustrate  –  By the symbolic  penalties of the 3 degrees in the craft lodge I understood them to represent  paving  the path for the mystic spiritual  energy  in our body  to  advance from the bottom  of the spine to the  top of our head or the crown. This energy is described in the Vedas and Upanishads as the Mystic Kundalini Shakti or The Serpent Power which is dormant in most  of the human beings.¹As the  energy’s movements are snake like it is called the serpent power.

The hook used to keep together the apron that we wear at the meetings has the shape and the head of a serpent which is again representative of the serpent power resident  in our physical body. If we talk about symbols in Freemasonry this is one of the greatest symbols that describes clearly the spirit in our body and its movements.

The Vedas and Upanishads have plenty of materials relating to the dualility of the Soul. The black and white chekered flooring in our lodge  is another very valuable symbol  indicating the duality in physical life as well as in the journey of the Soul as both have to encounter and overcome  good and evil forces. Both forces exist simultaneously and cannot be separated from one another. Nor can the dual aspect be avoided. The duality concept teaches us to have a balanced view in life and accept both good and evil as they come and to realise both as a union of a sort¹

 There are seven chakras or energy centres in our body through which the aforesaid Serpent Power travels and it is no coincidence that there are seven officers in the craft lodge viz. The Tyler, Inner Guard, Junior and Senior Deacons, Junior and Senior Wardens and The Worshipful Master. The seven officers make for a just and a perfect lodge. It also implies that the lodge is our body self or our body itself is a lodge housing the soul. 

The rat race in today's  material world has led humans to forget the spiritual energy and its  centers and  therefore it remains a secret today for majority of  mankind. The task to recover the lost secrets  rightfully occupys our attention in the Chapter. When we come  to the Chapter, the search is said to begin to recover the lost secrets. I understood  the Chapter as detailing and lessoning us about the precautions to be taken while the energy moves from the base of our spine to the crown (the Irish Chapter working nicely describes the duties of the veils)  before one  is allowed to advance  to  the  Council Chamber. The Council Chamber  is representative of  the  Crown Chakra (also called Sahasrara Chakra) in our body.

For the spiritual energy to smoothly move from one center to another,  strict observance of moral  and ethical codes are expected and we should have a strong belief  in God. Any deviation therefrom will lead to disastrous consequences to our well being. In other words if even one of the seven centers or officers are not perfect or present in the lodge  we say that the soul/meeting is not just and perfect. Hence in the Chapter there are Companions symbolically guarding the Veils to prevent undeserving forces from advancing towards the Council Chamber.

I have read  several books which say that an attentive person should be able to feel the sensations as the  energy advances from one center  to another. As pains and pleasures form  an essential and integral part in the path of spirituality,  only  a person who has firm faith in God can keep the Divine Fire or Agni  burning  to ultimately secure Self Realisation, God Realisation and the  Realisation that every living being is a ‘Soul and not a Body’.  No wonder that belief in God or the Supreme Being is a prerequisite before one is admitted into freemasonry.

¹The dividing of the Word at the time of opening the Chapter and at the time of closing the Chapter and moreover the investiture of officers in a Chapter always involve  three  Companions which reminds me of what the Vedas and Upanishads say about the  channels for the Divine energy to rise up in our body. It is stated therein that there are three channels or Nadis named – The Ida Nadi, The Pingala Nadi and The Sushumna Nadi through which the serpent power rises up in our body, not necessarily in that order or together or alone. I realised that the Chapter nicely brings out the essence of the Nadis when asking three members to  divide the word and when investing three officers at a time implying that the Serpent power  rises up through the three nadis¹.

Sri Aurobindo has said in his writings  that after  the spiritual energy in our body rises from the base of the Spine to  the top of our head and meets the Universal energy, the same  Spiritual Energy reverses and comes down into our body through the top of the head.  Sri Aurobindo calls  it the Descending Divine Grace  as distinguished  from the rising Kundalini.  He  names  this  Integral  Yoga and says that the Integral Yoga  begins  only after the end of  other Yogas i.e. after the ascending energy has completed its course from the bottom of the spine to the head as symbolised in the craft and chapter working.

Attending other Masonic bodies also made me  realise that their workings/rituals alluded to  movements of the spiritual energy in our body. This time about how it feels when the Divine Energy travels from top of the head to the lower regions of the body. This wonderful feeling  of the Divine Energy or Blessing is very nicely  depicted  in the Anthem of  Secret  Monitors in the Brotherhood of David and Jonathan in the following words  :

“ Behold how good and joyful a thing it is : brethren, to dwell together in unity!  It is like the precious ointment  upon the head , that ran down unto the beard: even unto Aaron’s beard, and went down to the skirts of his clothing. Like the dew of Hermon : which fell upon the hill of  Zion. For there the Lord promised his blessing : and life for  evermore.”

One of the bretheren who is of Christian faith told me that the above are quoted in the Holy Bible. I acknowledge his contribution.

Sri Aurobindo has also in his inimitable manner described how  it feels  when the Divine Grace or Blessing descends in the Integral  Yoga.  When the Divine Grace descends it  feels as  though snow flakes flow  from the top of the head to the face, then  the neck, then the throat till it has traversed   the whole body.

In Chaitanya Charitamritha , the author describes the ecstatic and joyful moments that Sri Krishna Chaitanya experienced when there was an  outpouring of the Divine Grace or Blessing at the time of his dancing in praise  of Lord Krishna. Sri Krishna Chaitanya is claimed to be an Avatar of Lord Krishna who appeared in Bengal about 500 years back and he  re-discovered the lost secrets of the Vedas as contained in  Bhakti Yoga. 

Though there is scope for citing similar examples from other Masonic bodies, suffice it to say that apart from  the quest for knowledge, brotherhood at Lodge meetings is the  key to  spiritual progress. If Brotherhood was  wanting at a particular Masonic meeting the spiritual energy was either not felt or absent as the thought processes and  negative attitudes tended to disturb the free flowing  spiritual aura. Hence the spiritual progress of brethren are negated. That explains why two brethren  not on amicable terms are firmly asked to resolve their differences before they enter the temple.  Such is the importance attached to brotherhood for our collective spiritual progress.

It is my opinion that if  we make the Spiritual side of Freemasonry known loudly and widely, we can expect  Brethren to take a more serious  interest at the meetings and perhaps more people  will  join Freemasonry.  The Spiritual side  is indeed the  Hidden Side of Freemasonry which is also the most important goal of all religions. There are any number of people visiting temples, churches, mosques and synagogues, atleast 25% of whom are  in search of spiritual elevation. If only we had those numbers waiting at our doorsteps:-)

My interest  in Spirituality  brings me  to the  Lodge as  I  see in the Lodge Temple a place where we meet in a group to  collectively elevate our  souls to higher levels and in the process evolve a new quality of life on earth. Sri Aurobindo and The Mother toiled all their life for the descent of the Divine Grace in themselves and the Pondicherry Ashram inmates  as they felt that the descent of the Divine Grace will ultimately culminate in  the descent of Super Consciousness in the human body . My years in Freemasonry has given me  rich  knowledge. 

I hope you enjoyed listening/reading this as much as I enjoyed writing it.

May the blessings of Heaven pour and rest  upon  us. All Glories to the Most High.

Amen.

¹Inserted on 24^th December 2011

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This paper was read at the  Rustom Cama Masonic Study Circle meeting held in 

April 2011 under the title of “Why am I a Freemason”.