The degrees of Freemasonry
are built on the clear understanding that men need to be engaged in a quest for
self-improvement. But a lot of guys out there are not on board with the quest.
They don’t know who they are or where they are going with their life. They are
confused and often misguided by their primitive instincts. They are full of
media defined ideas about masculinity, and their social conditioning has been based
largely on physique, sex, wealth, and conquest. They may seem very
successful in appearances. Yet, be wholly at sea in knowing what
self-improvement means, where it comes from, and how one accesses it.
Nevertheless, for most men,
life is seen as a journey. Men intuitively know there will be some kind of
initiation in store for them on their way to manhood. They just don’t know where
it will occur, what it will look like, or how the results will turn out for
them.
Even in Freemasonry,
where the quintessential initiation takes place in the Blue or Symbolic Lodge,
it is important to grasp that this is only the beginning of one’s journey. It
is there that we learn of the importance of our outward relationship with others
and the institutions of our society. It is there that we are taught it takes a
combination of intellect, experience, intuition, feeling, emotion and education
to make real progress in life. And it is there that we discover our dual
nature. We come face to face with our own worst enemy—our ego. We are given the
opportunity to transcend our passions and prejudices and become true to who we
are.
However, we are left to
our own resources as to how we are supposed to proceed with this profound
quest. We are still at sea with embracing the path of self-improvement. In the
nomenclature of our private association of men, this is part of the meaning of the Lost Word. As Master Masons, we still
have a mountain of self-discovery to climb. It is at this very point that every
initiated man either becomes ready for the higher teachings of Freemasonry, or
he remains content to enjoy his title as Master Mason and relish in the
attitude that his association with good men will bring him improvement enough.
To a large extent, the higher
degrees of Masonry are engaged in completing this drama--completing the
quest—completing the process of becoming a man. For example, the degrees or
teachings of the Lodge of Perfection in the Scottish Rite (4° - 14°) explore in depth the shadow side of our own
existence—the unfinished business we have with ourselves--our ruffians within. We
all have the arduous task of overcoming ourselves. And it will prove the
hardest journey of our life.
At least one aspect of
our ruffian nature is revealed in each of the 4th through 10th
degrees. Bringing these to the surface facilitates our own awakening of
consciousness. For instance, the 4° informs us that the mysteries of our own
being are not easily revealed to us--our inadequate understanding of things;
our ignorance and short sidedness; passions and prejudices; selfish motives and
lazy approaches to learning. In the 5°, we are warned of our selfish interests,
our idleness and non-committal approach to a genuine interest in others; our
unearned privileges, and lack of concern for equity and fairness. In the 6°,
our ruffians become our hasty judgments; our inability to separate perception
from reality; our “me-first” attitudes; our prejudices and fears.
You get the idea. Our
life is like a stream of water running from the past to the present, having its
roots in ignorance, idleness and intolerance. By revealing our failings and
inadequacies, we are able to address these in the light of our new knowledge,
and change ourselves for the better. As these stumbling blocks to personal affirmation
are collectively projected across the many aspects of our society, the overall work
of the Lodge of Perfection becomes a kind of knighthood aimed at eliminating ignorance,
tyranny and fanaticism.
The bottom line is that
the foremost goal of human life is the quest for spiritual enlightenment.
Self-improvement is only achieved through higher, more refined levels of
awareness brought about by concentrating one’s mind on one’s innermost self—our
essential center of being. This cannot be achieved as long as ignorance,
tyranny and fanaticism linger in our minds. But the solution requires a little
explanation.
The problem of
toleration is remarkably difficult for most everyone because it is so easy to
feel good about being intolerant. The highest price we are called upon to pay
for freedom is not in taxes to defend the country, nor even on the battlefield.
The highest price we must pay for freedom is to allow others to be free.
Religious toleration
means that we must allow others the same right to freedom of worship we demand
for ourselves, even if we find their practices wrong or repugnant.
Intellectual toleration
means that we must allow the free and full exploration of every idea, even if
we think it wrong or dangerous.
Social toleration means
that we must allow others to live lifestyles we may find strange or
uncomfortable, whether in a commune or in a same sex relationship.
Of all the lessons a
man or a woman must learn to be truly human, toleration may well be the
hardest.
Tyranny is another form
of intolerance. Tyranny does not equate to authority, but with attitude. We
don’t call the skilled and caring teacher who maintains order and discipline in
his or her class a tyrant, nor the nation which offers protection to another
nation while carefully not interfering with the nation so helped, nor the
husband or wife who discharges the affair of the household with authority but
also love and concern.
The essence of tyranny
is selfishness. And if tyranny is selfish in the world of material things,
fanaticism is selfishness in the world of ideas and beliefs. Fanaticism is the
sort of selfishness that says “I am right. If you do not agree with me, you are
wrong, and I have the right to hurt you.”
It is ignorance that allows
both tyranny and fanaticism to flourish, for only an informed populace can form
the basis of freedom. Ignorance is the primary weapon of the tyrant and the
fanatic. Both can give good reason why just a little bit of censorship is
needed, or why we should control what people think or what they read because
otherwise they may ask questions and lose the true faith. The fanatic always
wants to benefit others. All he asks in return is your mind and soul.
We are admonished in
the Scottish Rite to be always actively involved in the government of our
country. Unjust taxes, government bureaucracies which are more concerned with
self perpetuation than with service; creeping limitations on the freedom of the
people –in the name of expediency, or of conformity, or the greater good--these
things are not new. To truly be champions of the people, as Masonry calls on us
to be, we must be concerned with every miscarriage of justice, every
unreasonable limitation of liberty, every arbitrary act of court or state house
or capital.
And our special concern
has to be with those who do not have access to the courts, nor the ear of those
in power, nor influence with city hall. Their very powerlessness creates a
binding obligation on every good brother to promote human equity and
impartiality.
Yes, it would be far
easier, and far more comfortable, to just chill out. Most men do. But our duty
is to be aflame. That is how we conquer the ruffians.
