THE GREETINGS

Just as at the opening of the Lodge we gathered together all our forces for the evening's work, so now in the closing of the Lodge we marshal them once more for the final effort of outpouring the Masonic blessing. The ceremony of closing begins when the R.W.M. asks if any Bro. has any proposition to make, specifying that such propositions must be for the benefit of the Order in general or for the benefit of humanity. All business and all proposals connected with business should have been done at an earlier period in the evening, before the Lodge has commenced the special work of the meeting. The only matters with which we deal at this stage are the proposal of candidates for initiation, and the reception of greetings from other Councils, Consistories, Chapters or Lodges.

The greetings then given are by no means formal. Each greeting received is a very distinct contribution to the force which is produced during the working of the Lodge; it brings with it the peculiar mental atmosphere of the Lodge whose greeting is given. Every Lodge exists on the mental plane as a definite mental object - a real thing in the realm of thought. When, therefore, one of its members gives a greeting in another Lodge, there comes to him from his own a spear of light, bearing good influence, which radiates through him. When a Bro. is in his own Lodge, a certain aspect or facet or segment of his aura, which represents his relation to that Lodge, is galvanized into activity; some portion of his potential being is vivified because he is part of that Lodge.

The Lodge as a mental entity is made up of such sections of all its members, welded together to form a whole, and it is from that whole that the spear of light comes and flashes out when the greetings are given. When we speak of a Lodge as a mental entity we do not mean something existing merely in mind or fancy; on the mental plane each Lodge is a definite thing, a great sphere, with a precise allocation in space, over the place where the Lodge meets. In the case of a hall where a number of Lodges meet on different evenings, the several spheres are to be seen floating above the building; these spheres are then not intermingled at all, but clustered together over the premises in such a way as to remind one of a collection of toy balloons.

The mental forms made by different Lodges vary very greatly. In some cases such a form is a very fine thing indeed, upheld by a number of people who are intensely in earnest, whose Lodge is a very real thing in their lives. When the members have considerable knowledge of the occult meaning of the Lodge and its work, that makes a splendid form on the higher mental plane; but if the Lodge is composed of members of little intellectual ability, whose thoughts are for the most part centered upon good fellowship and banqueting, the astral counterpart of the Lodge will be strong, but the mental portion of its form deficient. It follows from this that the greetings from some Lodges are of far more effect than those from others.

The highest greetings of all are those from the Supreme Council. The R.W.M. asks the question which leads to the greetings three times. Therefore the force which the Lodge receives through the greetings is divisible into three groups, each quite distinct from the others. Sometimes there are answers to all the three questions, but often there are not. The first group brings the benison of White Masonry. That greeting can be given only by members from the 31° to the 33° inclusive, and it has distinctly the character of a blessing from on high; for this reason its communications are dated always from the Zenith, signifying that its benediction descends impartially upon all.

In this same section greetings may be received also from an Encampment of the 30°. Regalia of that degree are black; its special teaching is concerned with the working out of karma, whether it be good or evil, and its special function in Masonry is the inculcation of order, justice and discipline. For that reason it is established in an Encampment on the hills, so that it can see all round any subject which is submitted to it.

The second class of force comes from Red or rather rose-colored Masonry. This group comprises all Masons from the 4° to the 29°, and includes also the Masons of the Holy Royal Arch. Its central point is the 18° or Rose-Croix, and its special characteristic is love. Because of its quality of love it dates its communications from the valleys - the fertile valleys running down from the mountains, yet descending towards the teeming plains of every-day life.

The greeting of the first group may be compared to the blessing of a great guru or religious teacher, while the second is more like the affection which parents give to children, or that which the pitris or ancestors shower upon mankind. In the 33° each man exercises a power of blessing not unlike that of a Bishop in the Christian Church, for the great white Angels who are especially engaged in the work of the 33° have very much in common with those who exercise similar functions in that Church.

Then comes the third group of greetings, from Mark Lodges and from Blue Masonry, given by members of the three degrees. These bring a great stream of brotherly encouragement and strength from other Lodges, which stand at the same level Masonically as that to which the greetings are given. These Lodges are all on the plains, which extend far into the blue distance. So we have three distinct types of greetings, giving blessing, love and encouragement respectively.

Sometimes a Mason is requested by a Lodge other than his own, with which he happens to be personally connected, to convey its greetings to his own Lodge and other Lodges which he may visit. In such a case he becomes a kind of envoy for that Lodge, although he does not belong to it, and he is thereby empowered to carry its greeting just as effectively as a member of that Lodge could do it.

At this stage of the proceedings, should it happen that no proposition is forthcoming, the W.S.W. announces: "The c … s are silent, R.W.M." Here we have the use of the word c … s in another sense, referring not to the pillars that stand upon the pedestals, but to the members who are not in official position, and are sitting in the north and south. These Brethren are literally in the position of c … s in the building of the temple, as will be seen in the large colored Plate which accompanies this book, and it is their work that supports the Lodge. It is not that the Brethren make up a c …, horizontally, being in a row, but that each one is a separate perpendicular c …, helping to support the roof; they stand as brothers, equal in their work. I will quote here an account of a very beautiful and most instructive vision which came many years ago to an intimate friend of mine. He writes:

One day when meditating on brotherhood there suddenly leaped into existence before my internal vision a magnificent temple, apparently Egyptian or Grecian in style. It had no outer walls, but consisted of a large number of pillars supporting a graceful roof, and surrounding a small walled shrine, into which I did not see. I cannot express the vividness with which I felt that the building was instinct with meaning - impregnated, as it were, with magnetism of intelligence which made it no mere vision, but an object-lesson containing the very highest teaching. Simultaneously an explanatory sonnet unfolded itself, and described in a few terse, compact lines how this was a symbol of true brotherhood - how all these pillars, all in different places, some bathed in the glorious sunlight, some for ever in the half-shade of the inner lines, some thick, some thin, some exquisitely decorated, some equally strong yet unadorned, some always frequented by devotees who used to sit near them, others always deserted - how all of them silently, ungrudgingly, perseveringly and equally bore together the one roof, protecting the inner hall and its shrine-all different and yet so truly all the same. And the sonnet ended: "In this see brotherhood."

I could not reproduce that sonnet now, but the richness and the fullness of its meaning, the deep wisdom so neatly wrapped up in those few words made me see as if in the gleam of a searchlight what true brotherhood really means - the sharing of service, the bearing one's part regardless of all else but the work to be done.* (*Some Occult Experiences, by Johan van Manen, p. 20.)

There is much to be learnt, I think, from such a vision as that.

The greetings are concluded by the rising of all the Brethren of the Lodge, and their exchange of hearty good wishes with the R.W.M., thus bringing to a focus their feeling of love and loyalty to him and to the H.O.A.T.F. behind him.

PREPARATION FOR CLOSING

Then inspiring verses are read by the Orator from the V.S.L., and the R.W.M. calls upon the Brethren to assist him in closing the Lodge. We have already seen what a large part the Brethren play in the opening of the Lodge, by the power of their thought and devotion. All through the ceremony the thought-form made by the visible and invisible Brethren and workers has been increasing in the richness and strength of its content; now all turn their attention to the distribution of that force to the world around.

I may perhaps illustrate the nature of this effect by reference to the construction of a certain type of Hindu mantras. Some years ago I was requested by our noble brother Sir S. Subramania Iyer of Madras to investigate a mantra which he had been using for many years, which had been given to him by Swami T. Subba Rao, a great South Indian occultist. I looked into the matter with considerable care, and also made use of it afterwards, for it was very remarkable.

This mantra is found, I am told, in the Gopalatapani and Krishna Upanishads, and is composed of five parts, as follows: (1) Klim, Krishnaya, (2) Govindaya, (3) Gopijana, (4) Vallabhaya, (5) Swaha. As one meditates upon this with intent each syllable makes a line in such a position that a five-pointed star results, as in Fig. 17.

Figure 17

And as the mantra is repeated these stars pile up behind one another to form a tube having this five-pointed form of cross-section, which makes a channel for spiritual force coming from Shri Krishna, who is the same Being as the Lord Maitreya, the present Bodhisattva or World-Teacher, the Great One who entered into the body of Jesus as the Christ. With this force coming through it the mantra can be used for many purposes, such as healing, or the removal of fire and other elementals, as well as for general good.

I found, however, that there were three stages in the process. With the recital of "Klim", which it is said is called "the seed of attraction" by the Hindu occultists, the attention of the Source of the force is attracted and what may be called a kind of downward door or valve is opened; then, throughout the body of the mantra the force pours into the form; and finally, with the sound "Swaha", that force is sent out to do its work.

Our work in the Lodge is of the same nature as that done by means of such ancient mantras. During our meeting we have been enriching the form by our devotion and thought, and now we prepare to let the accumulated force burst forth as a blessing on the surrounding world.

THE CLOSING

The closing, like the opening, begins with the momentous question as to the first and constant care of every Freemason to see that the Lodge is close t … d. With the general purpose and effect of t … g I have already dealt in Chapter V. The special reason for putting this query again at this stage is that we are now especially collecting and generating force which is intended to be used not within the Lodge, but for projection along certain definite lines outside it. We therefore see carefully to the t … g of our Lodge, just as a man who has inserted a cartridge into a breech-loading rifle is careful to close the chamber hermetically, so that the whole force of the explosion will be directed only along the barrel, but of course the explosion in this case is not of destruction, but of blessing to the world.

The next command is that the Brethren should come to order as Freemasons - not this time in order to see that no intruders are present, because our doors have been guarded all through the ceremony, but because this coming to order with the s … p and s … n is the method appointed to call out the special power of the degree, to increase to the fullest extent the activity of the chakra concerned, so that each member may realize and express fully the power conferred upon him as an E.A. When this is done one may see the chakra light up and glow, flash and scintillate, and often increase in size.

Then the R.W.M. turns to the W.S.W. and asks once more what is his situation in the Lodge and why he is so placed. This is in effect a call upon the W. S. W.'s Angel representative to do his duty, to see that each Bro. is filled with strength, not only to take his share in the present work, but to carry on through life until the next meeting. Again, with the same object, having done everything possible to stimulate the Brethren and to increase the spiritual power available - by drawing in help from the Craft, by arousing the loyalty of the members, by the inspiration of the S.L., by the most careful t … g, by the use of the special power of the degree in which they are working, and by a call upon the Angel for assistance - we now turn to the Logos Himself, expressing our heartfelt gratitude for the blessings we have received and our hope that the Order may continue to deserve His help by doing its duty of expressing every moral and social virtue. Still further enthusiasm is evoked by the beautiful words and thoughts of the closing hymn, and then the R.W.M. sums up our Masonic duty to our neighbor in the comprehensive injunction that we should meet upon the level, act upon the plumb, and part upon the square, each officer raising the symbol attached to his collar as the word is pronounced.

We meet in perfect equality and friendliness, showing no preference or prejudice, but doing justice to all. We act always with absolute truth and uprightness, showing ever the keenest sense of honor; and though the Lodge is now closing, and we are about to separate on the physical plane, yet we part on the square, never forgetting the close adjustment which it secures, so that our brother's interest is our own in his absence as in his presence, and there can be no selfishness or forgetfulness, for we are all stones builded together into one divine temple to the glory of T.G.A.O.T.U.

Then the R.W.M., raising his hands, speaks the fateful words which release all this splendid accumulation of force, and send out a vivid pulsation of energy to every member of every duly constituted Lodge throughout the world. What each Bro. can receive of this stupendous outpouring depends upon himself, his degree of advancement, his knowledge, his attitude of mind; but that the gift is one of enormous value, that the privilege of belonging to the Order is very great, there can be no question in the mind of any student of occultism.

The elemental hosts which have been gathered together rush outward to all points of the compass, only their captains, the representative Angels of the officers, still remaining in their respective places. When at the command of the R.W.M. the W.S.W., who typifies Shiva, the destroyer of forms, utters the formula of closing, the Angels of the assistant officers also fade away, leaving only the three principals and the august thought-form of the H.O.A.T.F. The R.W.I.P.M., in the solemn utterance "And the word was with God", reminds the Brethren that even when manifestation ceases the Christ still remains within the bosom of the Father, ready to spring forth again, the Alone-born, the Self-begotten, when He, the Eternal Word, shall deign to speak once more.

The principal Officers now extinguish their candles in rotation, each decreeing as be does so that the quality which he personifies shall nevertheless remain enshrined within the hearts of the Brethren; and the R.W.I.P.M. explains how this is possible by reminding them yet again that "His light shineth even in our darkness". As the candles are extinguished the representative Angels disappear, each as he goes bowing profoundly to the Presence of the M.O.T.W., who raises His hands in blessing, and vanishes only when at the closing prayer for the preservation of the Craft all turn with uplifted hands towards His portrait.

So ends one of the most wonderful ceremonies in the world - a ceremony which has survived, practically unchanged in its essential parts, from an antiquity so remote that history has forgotten it. Misunderstood, only half appreciated, maimed in many cases of the glorious and dignified rites which are its true expression, it is nevertheless still doing its appointed work in an ungrateful and uncomprehending world. Founded many thousands, perhaps millions, of years ago, by order of the Spiritual King of the World, it still remains one of the mightiest weapons in His hands, one of the most efficient channels of His blessing. Some of us have the wisdom to grasp this, the good karma to be employed in this department of His service; may we never forget how great is our privilege; may we never fail to take the fullest advantage of this opportunity which He has given us!

S … M … I … B ….

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