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"Where Master Masons Communicate"
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The GFN Treasure Chest Archiveswww.masonic-network.com |
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Duties: A Soldier of the Light seeks truth and knowledge. A Soldier of Freedom demands for the people free vote and voice and attains freedom of voice, vote and opinion for himself. A Soldier of the True Religion combats spiritual tyranny with reason and truth. A Soldier of the People encourages men to be self-reliant and independent. A Soldier of Scottish Rite Masonry is zealous and ardent in the performance of his duties to God, his country, his family, his brethren and himself.
Lessons: The human is ever interlaced with the Divine. Only doctrines, faith or knowledge which bear fruit in action are of value. To work is to worship.
For reflection: Do you endeavour to achieve the Royal Secret in your life and within yourself?
Important symbols: The Camp, Lesser Tetractys, five-pointed star, Greater Tetractys, seven-pointed star, triple interlaced triangle, Trimurti (3-faced bust).
The degree of Master of the Royal Secret selects, clarifies and unifies into a single coherent doctrine all of the duties and lessons of the preceding degrees. In it we continue our journey eastward in search of the Holy Doctrine of which the Royal Secret is the foundation. To unveil the symbolism of the ages is a journey backward in time to the basic truths known by the ancient sages. Once these truths are revealed, our special charge is to maintain them in their purity, passing them on to the future concealed in allegory and symbolism and revealing them only to worthy men.
Here we learn of the ancient Aryan religious doctrine. Pike believed it was the earliest religion. It was his opinion that these teachings were corrupted and elaborated until the true meaning was lost. The name Aryan derives from the Sanskrit word for 'noble.' They were a prehistoric tribe of central Asia which settled both Iran and northern India. From their language has descended, not only ancient Persian and Sanskrit, as well as their derivatives, but also most of the languages of European, including English.
One of Pike's major sources on these people was the 19th century German orientalist Max Muller, the father of comparative linguistics. Muller believed that the religions and languages of Europe, Persia and India descended for these Asiatic Tribes and that the key to this historical unity resided in the comparative study of languages. This is the reason for the detailed discussions on word origin to be found, especially in the Readings and Legenda for this degree. Muller's over-reliance on data from languages rather that including other, equally important, cultural factors resulted in many errors which must be forgiven such an important pioneer in a largely untried field. Pike, however, has occasionally forwarded these errors. Therefore, his comments on the Aryans in the ritual must be considered an historical glimpse in to the state of knowledge in the 19th century.
We have no texts from which to seek an understanding of the Aryan's religious beliefs; and, therefore, we must look for common threads between the religions of pre-Islamic Persia and India. Since both received the influence of Aryan Doctrine, what they share in common may be fairly presumed to have been derived from the Aryans. The main source of this procedure have been the Persian Zend-Avesta and the Hindu Vedas Persian Doctrine: The probable source of the dualism in Western religions, including Christianity, is the ancients religion taught by Zoroaster of Persia (about 600 B.C.). This faith was an almost pure monotheism, rare at that time in the history of man. Zoroaster defined the universe as imbued with two forces; Spenta Mainyu or Holy Spirit (the force of truth) and Angra Mainyu, a destructive spirit opposed to truth. These forces contended for influence over man but Zoroaster believed in free will; that man is responsible for the consequence of his choice. These forces, and the actions which result from them, were manifestations of the Principles of Good and Evil. The Principle of Good, the Supreme Being of this faith, was termed Ahura Mazda whom the Greeks called Ormuzd; in Morals and Dogma Pike uses both terms interchangeably.
The actions of Ahura Mazda were manifested through a hierarchy of subordinate spirits that are parallel to, and possibly the source of, the concept of angels in the Western religious tradition. These spirits were termed the Amesha Spentas or 'Bounteous Immortals.' Opposed to Ahura Mazda was Ahriman as the Principle of Evil. Many scholars have seen the origin of the Hebrew concept of satan in this Persian doctrine. He also had his subsidiary created spirits. Both the good and the evil spirits found expression in the faith and typified various virtues and vices. The celibate and/or monastic life was strongly forbidden as an evil violation of the imperatives of nature. The Zoroastrians saw the duality of the universe mirrored in the natural world but, unlike many later faiths, never juxtaposed the spiritual and material domains as good and evil respectively. Nature was good since all matter was the creation of Ahura Mazda. Life was to be lived, enjoyed and made fruitful. Hindu Doctrine: We also find in the ritual a recitation of the beliefs of the Hindus of India. Having gained many of their beliefs from the Aryans in the northwest, Hindu doctrine reflects some of the early Persian religion that preceded Zoroaster. Hinduism seems at first to be an unremitting polytheism but the deities of the Hindu pantheon spring from a single source: the indescribable and unutterable Brahm. This conception of Deity is as profound and elevated as any to be found in the world. From this ineffable Deity come the manifestations of physical reality: light, and its counterpart shadow or darkness; Brahm, the Creator; Vishnu, the preserver; and Shiva, the destroyer. This single process of creation, preservation and destruction revealed the cyclic nature of the universe and led, quite naturally, to the concept of reincarnation. Virtue controlled the consequences of rebirth. Man, by a virtuous life, could look forward to rebirths that would give him a successively greater spiritual awareness and understanding; eventually he could be freed entirely from the cycle of rebirth and united with Brahm. Vice, on the other hand, led to lower births and by such actions a man might be reborn as a serpent or an insect.
The light which emanated from Brahm itself became deified as Agni, the god of light and fire whose name lives on in the English word 'ignite'. Other natural phenomena underwent a similar process. The dawn became Usha. Mitra, anciently the Morning Star, became associated with the planet Venus; Herodotus calls this deity a female. Later, it became a male associated with the bull. The important point is that originally all three Vedic deities, Agni, Usha and Mitra were connected with the concept of light in some form. Pike believed the Hindu mantra, AUM, to be an anagram composed of the initials of these deities.
The Hindus were not dualist and had no Principle of Evil corresponding to the Persian Ahriman. they nonetheless associated, as Masons do, light with knowledge. Light was existence and thus reality. It is by light that man sees and understands the world around him; thus the Sanskrit root for 'to see', vid, became also the root for 'knowledge'. This is preserved even in English where we have such words as 'video' and 'wit' both related to the Sanskrit vid. This root also has a secondary meaning of 'find a husband' or 'marry'. The husband was so important in the marriage relationship that the light truly went out of the life of a widow (from wid-wa; literally, in Sanskrit 'without husband) and we see arising the custom of the wife throwing herself upon her husband's funeral pyre. By this practice the husband and wife would be joined together into a single light, to ascend together to become a single intellect, shining like a star forever. This practice, for the most part, was ended when the British assumed legal control over India in 1857.
With this foundation from the Zoroastrian and Hindu doctrines, let us now begin our passage through time and space with an explanation of the Chamber of Consistory, the name by which bodies of Inspectors Inquisitor and Masters of the Royal Secret are called, focusing on the many symbols illustrated there.
Ceremony: Purple, red, gold and silver predominate in the colors of the set. The hangings are purple and gold, the altar cover is purple with Sanskrit letters in gold, the letters of the mystic Hindu mantra AUM. Also on the altar is a nine-pointed star formed from three interlaced gold triangles.
In the East is a chair reached by ascending seven steps separated into groups of three and four. These numbers are symbolic of many meanings in this degree:
the sides of a perfect Pythagorean right triangle which form the right angle, being of a proportion of three to four units of measure;
the seven stars of the constellation Ursa Major which became the Amesha Spenta or 'Bounteous Immortal Ones' of the Persian creed, four male and three female; these in turn became the seven archangels of the Hebrew theology mentioned in the 28th Degree;
the seven liberal arts and sciences divided into the Trivium (Grammar, Rhetoric, Logic) and the Quadrivium (Arithmetic, Geometry, Music and Astronomy);
the color spectrum which derived from passing a ray of light through prism and results in seven different colors which are grouped into the three lower colors--red, orange and yellow-- and the four higher colors--green, blue, indigo and violet. We see these on the cover illustration of this book representing the division of light (knowledge) into its constituent parts (the individual subject matter of knowledge).
In the West two Lieutenant Commanders sit on chairs covered with crimson cloth and fringed in silver. Two triangular tables each covered with a crimson cloth, upon which is a Sanskrit letter of silver, are placed in front of these Chairs of State. On one is pure water and on the other a censer and vessels with incense and alcohol.
Purple has long been a colour symbolising the regal and noble; gold is a colour associated with the Deity and derives from the color of the sun. Within the Consistory these colors are a statement of celestial and heavenly things and, specifically, of the omnipresent and omnipotent Deity. Red is indicate of the earthly realm, as is silver, which is the color frequently associated with the moon, a reflector of sunlight. In combination these colors are a reminder of a teaching of the 28th Degree: What is above is like what is below.
Around the Altar of Obligation are three large lights. They are placed to indicate the corners of a right angled triangle with a base of three measures, a perpendicular from the base of four measures and a hypotenuse of five measures; it is a representation of the Pythagorean right triangle - a symbol of the beauty in perfection, balance and proportion.
The Lesser Tetractys, a triangular form of ten lights seen in many preceding degrees, is situated between the altar and the West. Its apex also points to the East. This symbol is composed of dots; in this case ten, arranged in rows of one, two, three and four respectively. Within it may be traced the many symbols which have been explained in the preceding degree summaries, some of which have been used to design the jewels of various degrees. Pike's interest in this symbol derives from its popularity with a wide variety of mystical schools. For the Pythagoreans it was a symbol of virtue. They swore their oaths upon it as we do the Bible and considered it the source of the eternal order of the world.
Thirty-six lights between the East and the altar form the Greater Tetractys of Pythagoras, its apex to the East. This symbol is composed of 36 dots arranged in eight rows of one, two, three, four, five, six, seven, and eight dots respectively. Like the Lesser Tetractys, it was revered by the Pythagoreans because of the many symbols which could be created within it by connecting various combinations of dots. In the 32nd degree Pike has given this symbol a Persian significance; that is, each line of dots represents respectively Ahura Mazda and the Amesha Spentas which were His manifestations. We also may see that there are a total of 4 smaller triangles which may be created by connecting all the dots. Twenty-seven have their apex pointing upwards and twenty-one have their apex pointing downward. Both of these numbers are multiples of three and were of special significance to the Pythagoreans.
Pike believed that Pythagoras learned of the Tetractys from the Babylonian Magi and that the Jewish Kabalists learned of it also from them during the 70 years of captivity mentioned in the 15th and 16th degrees but misunderstood its meaning. From its ten dots they created ten emanations of Deity when the Magi had only seven.
Finally, the Royal Secret of the 32°
To the Magi the first three Tetractys rows included the previous row and then added one more; the final row representing the four male emanations, thus:
· Ahura Mazda
· · Ahura Mazda and Spenta Mainyu
· · · Ahura Mazda, Spenta Mainyu and Vohu-Mano
· · · · Spenta Mainyu and Vohu-Mano, Asha, Khshathra
The Greater Tetractys was used to elaborate this idea to include all of the 'Bountiful Immortals' in the design:
· Ahura Mazda
· · A-M, SM
· · · A-M, S-M, V-M
· · · · A-M, S-M, V-M, A
· · · · · A-M, S-M, V-M, A, Kh
· · · · · · A-M, S-M, V-M, A, Kh, A
· · · · · · · A-M, S-M, V-M, A, Kh, A, H
· · · · · · · · A-M, S-M,V-M, A,Kh,A,H,Ameretat
The three-faced bust is a symbol of the Trinity of Zarathustra and Pythagoras. Its Hindu character reminds us of the Trimurti; the expression of Deity in a three-fold manifestation. In recent Hindu thought they are called Brahma, Vishnu, and Shiva and represent the cyclical concepts of creation, preservation and destruction. You will remember that anciently this trinity was called as Agni, Usha and Mitra; the anagram for which, AUM, is seen in the triple interlaced triangle. Again it should be stressed that these concepts are here to remind us of the universality of the great religious truths of man.
The Great symbol, not seen in previous degrees, hangs in the East; it is a seven pointed star containing within the points the three lower and four higher colors within a ray of light and visible when the light is passed through a prism. The seven points of this star represent the seven Amesha Spenta or 'Bountiful Immortals' of the Persian Creed, said to have been the source of the emanations of deity termed by the Kabalists the Sephiroth. Their origin may have been the seven stars of the constellation Ursa Major which naturally divide into the four which form the body and the three which form the tail. Three are female and four are male and they answer to following qualities.
Ahura Mazda: The Creator
Male:
Spenta Mainyu, the Beneficent;
Vohu-mano, Divine Wisdom or the Word;
Asha, strength, & Power; Visible, the Fire;
Khshathra, Sovereignty and Dominion;
Female
Armaiti, the Fruitful;
Haurvat, brings healing, happiness & rejoicing to men;
Ameretat, the Giver of life.
The candidate enters this resplendent scene for his consecration as a Master of the Royal Secret in the attire of a Knight Kadosh. He is described as a lover of knowledge and a coveter of wisdom in order to be a benefactor of men. He must affirm his interest in the ancient symbols of Masonry which represents the great truths in philosophy and religion. He declares that the law of his daily life is the exalted morality of Masonry. To understand these truths, the candidate is reminded;
You are here to think, if you can think;
And to learn, if you can learn.
The first instruction concerns the Deity and his relationship to men. We learn that the Deity created the universe by wisdom and a thought, that the universe consists of contraries and opposing forces, that God is the one light that fills all spaces and that He is man's protector. These statement are among the principle ideas in the religions of the world and come from early Hindu and Persian religions about 6000 B.C. through the religion of Islam about 600 A.D., encompassing ideas from other major religions.
As the dawn appears the special symbols of this degree becomes clearly visible. We hear again the need for study and thought because Masonry is not only a sphynx, but a sphynx buried in the sand which the centuries have heaped around it.
As the full light of the day encompasses the Consistory, the candidate replaces the uniform of a Knight Kadosh, itself a symbol of the practical nature of Masonry, with the white robe of the Magus, or sage, the seeker of knowledge.
To become both priest and king, like all those who before have been entrusted with the Holy Doctrine and the Royal Secret, is to learn to exercise dominion over ourselves with wisdom. The priest is a symbol of divine wisdom, and the King, of divine sovereignty. Wisdom is attainable through knowledge, not of the sciences, but of the great truths of religion and philosophy revealed in the stars and in nature, for nature is the Book of the Deity Himself.
In man is a minute part of the divine intelligence which we call the intellect. The intellect, conscious of its origin, always instinctively turns to its origin, making man a religious being. To be a soldier of the True Religion is to recognize the corruption of the true religion given to man. Thus, we must combat, with reason and truth, all spiritual tyranny over the souls and consciences of men. Finally, we war against all who would, with superstition, bigotry and fanaticism, prescribe what men may believe.
A Soldier of the People is one who protects the people from the unfit and incompetent who seek to gain power and become the leaders of the people by unworthy means. Since people everywhere desire a leader, they are often deceived by those unworthy and incapable of true leadership. To encourage men to be self-reliant and independent to such an extent that they will not blindly follow any leader is the duty of a loyal Soldier of the People.
As Master of the Royal Secret we must: perform our duties to God, our country, our family, our brethren and ourselves; achieve equilibrium in our lives and attitudes, always recognizing that within all men is a minute ray of that Divine Intellect which created the universe; remember that in man is God, and that man is indestructible and immortal. Such are the great lessons of Scottish Rite Freemasonry!
To be consecrated to these great lessons is to become a sage, to be welcomed among the Masters of the Royal Secret who,
let not the ray of divine light within be darkened by vice, indulgence and the passions, prefer exertion over ease, self denial for the good of others over luxury, knowledge and truth over wealth, and seek the approval of their own conscience over place and honors bestowed by others;
and to join the great Masonic fraternity in which we all teach, incite, encourage, defend and protect our brethren from evil ways.
Lecture: The Royal Secret, of which the holder of the 32nd Degree is a Prince, is no secret in the normal sense of the word; that is, it is not something to be hidden from the rest of the world. Here the word "Secret" should be understood as synonymous with the word "Mystery," hidden only because we do not completely understand it. We are Princes of this Secret in the sense that the search for it is (or should be) a major goal in our lives. It is not a search distinct from the rest of our activities and therefore a distraction or a burden. Rather it is a search that is part of our life. We search for it in our relationship with God, our family, our vocation, and our brethren. It is not a vague ephemeral quest but a realizable goal which can, and should, be made the activity of our lives.
THIS ROYAL SECRET IS 'EQUILIBRIUM'
By the word 'equilibrium' we mean the harmony or balance which all of nature demonstrates to us and which is a guide for right living. We must respect others but must also have self-respect; we must give time to our families but preserve a portion for solitude; we must live this life but prepare for another.
The Royal Secret:
Of that Equilibrium in the Deity, between the Infinite Divine WISDOM and the Infinite Divine POWER, from which results the Stability of the Universe, the unchangeableness of the divine law, and the Principle of Truth, Justice, and Right which are part of it: and the Supreme Obligation of the Divine Law upon all men, as superior to all other law, and forming a part of all the laws of men and nations.
Of that Equilibrium also, between the Infinite Divine JUSTICE and the Infinite Divine MERCY, the result of which is the infinite Divine EQUITY, and the Moral Harmony or Beauty of the Universe. By it the endurance of created and imperfect nature in the presence of a Perfect Deity is made possible; and for Him, also, as for us, to love is better than to hate, and Forgiveness is wiser than Revenge or Punishment.
Of that Equilibrium between NECESSITY and LIBERTY, between the action of the DIVINE Omnipotence and the Free-will of man, by which vices and base actions, and ungenerous thoughts and words are crimes and wrongs, justly punished by the law of cause and consequence, though nothing in the universe can happen or be done contrary to the will of God; and without which co-existence of Liberty and Necessity, of Free-will in the creature and Omnipotence in the Creator, there could be no religion, nor any law of right and wrong.
Of that Equilibrium between Good and Evil, and Light and Darkness in the world, which assures us that all is the work of the infinite Wisdom and of an Infinite Love; and that there is no rebellious demon of evil, or Principle of Darkness co-existent and in eternal controversy with God, or the Principle of Light and of Good; by attaining to the knowledge of which equilibrium we can, through faith, see that the existence of Evil, Sin, Suffering, and Sorrow in the world, is consistent with the Infinite Goodness as well as with the Infinite Wisdom of the Almighty. Of that Equilibrium between Authority and Individual Action which constitutes Free Government, by setting on immutable foundations Liberty with Obedience to Law, Equality with Subjection to Authority, and Fraternity with Subordination to the Wisest and the Best: and of that Equilibrium between the Active people, and the Passive Stability and Permanence of the Will of the Past, expressed in constitutions of government, written of unwritten, and in the laws and customs, gray with age and sanctified by time, as precedents and authority; which is represented by the arch resting on the two columns, Jachin and Boaz, that stands at the portals of the Temple builded by Wisdom, on one of which Masonry sets the celestial Globe, symbol of the spiritual part of our composite nature and on the other the terrestrial Globe, symbol of the material part.
And, finally, of that Equilibrium, possible in ourselves, and which Masonry incessantly labors to accomplish in its Initiates, and demands of its Adepts and Princes(else unworthy of their titles), between the Spiritual and Divine and the Material and Human in Man; between the Intellect, Reason, and Moral Sense on one side, and the Appetites and Passions on the other, from which result the Harmony and Beauty of a well-regulated life. Which possible Equilibrium proves to us that our Appetites and Senses also are Forces given unto us by God, for purposes of good, and not the fruits of the malignancy of the Devil, to be detested, mortified, and, if possible, rendered inert and dead: that they are given us to be the means by which we shall be strengthened and incited to great and good deeds, and are to be wisely used, and not abused; to be controlled and kept within due bounds by the Reason and the Moral Sense.
And this Equilibrium teaches us, above all, to reverence ourselves as immortal souls, and to have respect and charity for others, who are even such as we are, partakers with us of the Divine Nature, lighted by a ray of the Divine Intelligence, Struggling, like us, toward the light, capable, like us, of progress upward towards perfection, and deserving to be loved and pitied, but never to be hated nor despised; to be aided and encouraged in this life-struggle, and not to be trampled upon in our own efforts to ascend.
Such, my Brother, is the TRUE WORD of a Master Mason; such the true Royal Secret, which makes possible, and shall at length make real, the Holy Empire of true Masonic Brotherhood.