Masonry seems to have undergone periodic renovation. This can be exampled by:
- traditional history, e.g. Moses is supposed to have conducted a lodge prior to the construction of KST - the received 18th century history, e.g. the discovery of the 3rd degree and the replacement of the raising of Noah with that of Hiram - the influx of higher degrees, apparently triggered by Ramsay's oration - the presence in ritual of content from the ancient and less ancient mysteries
With the upsurgence of public interest in the Mysteries and declining Masonic membership in most English-speaking regions, it may be time for another rebirth of Masonry.
As an early step in forming a vision it might be worth considering some principles for renewal. Here are some possibilities:
- Freedom of choice of Grand Lodge as compared with the English doctrine of exclusive territory. Freedom of choice might stimulate Grand Lodges to be more responsive to the wishes of the brethren.
- Recognition that Masonry contains a spiritual science
- Requirement that the work of the EA (refinement of the persona) and FC (investigation of the hidden mysteries of nature and science) is demonstrated to have progressed sufficiently to meet standards
- Active pursuit of the secrets of a MM by lodges. Was the loss first announced by the post-1717 London brethren? Perhaps those secrets are not so far away.
>But where are the qualified leaders and teachers to take on such a huge task?
“When the student is ready, the teacher will appear” Buddhist proverb. (The ready student attracts the teacher and/or the ready student sees that the teacher was there all the time.)
For example, a TS group I was visiting received a talk from a rather good Sufi who was also a Mason. He was quite competent to assess the progress of an EA and had made significant advances into the hidden mysteries of nature and science.
>I really cannot see most current Grand Lodges changing their ways.
Refusal to adapt is not a good strategy for survival.
“When the student is ready, the teacher will appear” Buddhist proverb. (The ready student attracts the teacher and/or the ready student sees that the teacher was there all the time.)
I have found this to be true. It is exciting and comforting at the same time.
Our birth is but a sleep and a forgetting…trailing clouds of glory do we come from God, who is our home -Wordsworth
a TS group I was visiting received a talk from a rather good Sufi who was also a Mason. He was quite competent to assess the progress of an EA and had made significant advances into the hidden mysteries of nature and science.
Any chance we might hear him talk in Adelaide? Love the Sufis.
Sufism
It was William St. Clair, serving on a delegation for his father’s cousin, King Edward the Confessor, who escorted his successor, Edward “the Exile”, from Hungary back to England, after which his daughter Margaret later married Malcolm III of Scotland. The Sinclairs, who were also a Norman family descended from Rollo the Viking, eventually became the leading family of Scottish Rite Freemasonry, regarded as representing a very “sacred” bloodline.
Their brand of Scottish Rite Freemasonry was believed to have developed out of contact between the knights of the Crusades and the mystics of the Islamic world. With the collapse of the Roman Empire, the last of the Neoplatonic philosophers moved east, seeking temporary refuge at the court of the Persian king, though, finding their situation inhospitable, they departed from Persia to an unknown destination, some say to Harran. Harran was the seat of one of the most important esoteric communities, the Sabians, believed to have inherited the occult traditions of Alexandria in Egypt, preserving the knowledge of Neoplatonism, and Hermeticism.
Refusal to adapt is not a good strategy for survival.
Heard that Universities are now realising they will have to adapt to the new technologies and that Stanford, Harvard and others are now offering on-line courses... some even free of charge.
Our birth is but a sleep and a forgetting…trailing clouds of glory do we come from God, who is our home -Wordsworth
With regards to Freemasonry, and generally speaking ...
Humanity is recognising the need for a more vital approach to God and one more intelligently presented; men are tired of doctrinal and dogmatic differences and quarrels; the study of Comparative Religion has demonstrated that the foundational truths in every faith are identical. Because of the universality, they evoke recognition and response from all men everywhere. ( 'the sun is always at its meridian with respect to Freemasonry' ie building our own individual temples) The only factor in reality which militates against the spiritual unity of all men everywhere is the existent clerical organisations and their militant attitude to religion and to faiths other than their own.
In spite of all this, the structure of the New World Religion is being raised by the dissenting groups within the institutional churches, by the many world groups who present the concept of God immanent, even when they do so with selfish motive and with an unwholesome emphasis upon the powers of the indwelling divinity to provide perfect health, plenty of money, serene business success, and unbroken popularity!
The New World Religion is also being brought into expression through the work of the esoteric groups throughout the world, because of their particular emphasis upon the fact of the spiritual Hierarchy, upon the office and the work of the Christ, and upon the techniques of meditation whereby soul-awareness (or the Christ consciousness) can be achieved. Prayer has expanded into meditation; desire has been lifted into mental aspiration. This is supplanted by a sense of unity and by the recognition of God immanent. This leads eventually to at-one-ment with God transcendent.
Ponder on This, AAB & DK
Emphasis mine.
Our birth is but a sleep and a forgetting…trailing clouds of glory do we come from God, who is our home -Wordsworth
... is this what all the reflections which are apparent in masonic ceremonies are symbolising at one level. The three Principal officers and the three assistants abound in our ceremonies. Imagine a triple raising if you will.
>The triple tau just sprang to mind, in particular as practiced in Royal Arch.
As far as I can tell that is the oldest part of that ritual and, despite the attachment of later Sumerian words, is potentially capable of providing a cosmic entry to the chapter room.