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'This page has been approved by the United Grand Lodge of England’
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January * February * March * April * May * June * July * August * September * October * November * December ANOTHER YEAR ROLLS BY - Let me first of all wish all my Brethren and Visitors to this site a Very Happy, Prosperous and ‘Healthy’ New Year. The years now seem to be roll by so swiftly that events need to be captured and savoured lest they be erased from memory because of their swift transit through our consciousness. This last year was completely absorbed in our Masonic District by the construction and dedication of the Cornwallis Home for assisted Living. We took a conscious decision to first complete every aspect of its construction before accepting Residents; as we wanted to avoid any disturbance to them, by continuing site work after their taking up residence therein, and also to demonstrate that the project was complete in every aspect. There were many amongst us who had reservations about the completion of this prestigious Charity initiative but we felt we owed it to those who had invested confidence in us to deliver an acceptable result. This list included our PATRONS who had contributed the initial corpus with which we bought the land, eight years ago, the Grand Charity which gave us a grant, and the many Brethren of our District who had contributed their mite and muscle to it. Above all, we had to deliver on the promises made to Most Wor. Bro. Fiennes Lord Cornwallis, when he turned the first sod for the Home in 1998, and indeed graciously lent his illustrious name to the Home. The Cornwallises did us the honour of dedicating and declaring it open on the 6th of December, and within the first few weeks of this month we shall be fully operational. As I said at the Opening Ceremony, we need to feel our way into the management of this facility as it combines the hard infrastructural components of a normal Hostelry with the special needs and soft skills that a residence for Senior Citizens demands. So we look forward to the coming year with some trepidation to ensure that the Masonry, literally speaking that represents the outer envelope of the Cornwallis Home, will be filled within, with the compassion and care that our fraternal obligations lay down as imperatives. We hope, by the time this year rolls by, that we would have taken our first steps in this direction and have made some progress to achieve the required experience in the administration of our Home for assisted living – the first in the English Craft outside England and Wales. In the meanwhile may the GAOTU bless all our initiatives during this year as He has done in ages past. Come this month and all thoughts turn to the Annual Investiture Meeting of the District which is held by rotation in Lodge locations around our jurisdiction, once every nine years or so for the Host Lodge. This year it is Calicut (Kozhikode) and Lodge Kerala. Speaking of hosting, we shall have the singular pleasure at this February meeting of playing hosts to about a dozen of our English (and Welsh) Brethren from the Provinces of Warwickshire and Wales attending our Calicut Convocation. We hope they will enjoy our hospitality and our way of conducting ourselves, formally at the Meetings and informally at the festive Boards and other interactions. Which brings me to another of my pet dreams, which is of starting a trend of Masonic tourism, in both or even many directions to truly manifest the practicality of ‘Masonry Universal’. I have myself been fascinated and enriched by visits to overseas Lodges of whatever recognized Constitution, but more particularly to observe the similarities and some differences in the Masonic practices within our own obtaining elsewhere. Acquaintance made over such visits have led to fast and enduring friendships, without the intervention of any other consideration than fraternal love. In fact one of those of the current visiting fraternal force is one who has been my adopted Brother for more than fifty years long before either of us saw the light of Masonry and the Brotherhood it represents. I shall be therefore particularly delighted to receive Wor. Bro. Michael Azariah Pinney, my Brother in more senses than one, to our Calicut meeting and to my Home in Chennai thereafter. We should seriously consider the possibility of taking the idea of Masonic travel further, and indeed examine whether we can formulate a plan to create an infrastructure to aid this endeavour. Perhaps our new campus in Bangalore can provide a setting and a Retreat for visiting Brethren of the English persuasion, from where they could radiate outwards on travels around our District, and beyond. Without dreams, there can be no grand design, and without action to follow there can be no practical progress. Let us convert this Dream into reality over the coming years, and continue to make, maintain and enlarge our contacts and connections with our Brethren from across the waters. In the meanwhile let us afford a warm welcome to all our visiting Brethren and ensure that they will carry back with them happy memories of their short sojourn amongst us. A LIFE-TIME OF SERVICE Recently Chennai observed the Centenary of the passing (on 17th February 2007) of the Founder-President of the Theosophical Society, Col. Henry Steele Olcott (1832 – 1907). Some months earlier, anticipating this event, I was asked by a contemporary fellow student of the Besant Theosophical School, Adyar, to help in the compilation of contributions by other Alumni on their school days at this institution, since published under the title “South of the Adyar River”. Although I had obviously heard about Col. Olcott earlier, this assignment led me to read his Diaries in eight volumes (called Old Diary Leaves) written up between 1878 and 1898 chronicling his work and travels through India, Burma, Ceylon, Indo-China, Australia and Japan, besides the West. In these travels, this American who had accepted Buddhism as his creed, established more than 200 schools in South Asia and adjacent countries, reconciled various conflicts between different Buddhist Congregations and worked steadfastly for the uplift of the depressed classes. However, that is as they say, another story, for what I have to convey in this message are the impressions gathered about Olcott’s dedication, and what appears to be Masonic springs from which the stream of Theosophy took its source. Olcott was obviously a Free Mason and the tenets of the Theosophical Society, of Brotherhood and the search for Truth, leads me to believe that Freemasonry was the source. In fact, all members of the Theosophical Society refer to themselves, as Brothers, there is a temple in the Society’s premises, albeit for Co-Masonry, and even Dr. Annie Besant was a 33° Freemason (of Co-Masonry) and its motto is “There is no religion higher than Truth”. Olcott’s dedication to his chosen cause was such that in the 29 years between 1878 and his death in 1907 he had founded the Theosophical Society with its World Headquarters in Adyar, Madras, in partnership with Madame Blavatsky, traveled to every Continent by those ancient, slow, and relatively uncomfortable modes of travel, established more than 200 schools, moved the Colonial administration of Ceylon to recognize Buddhism as the State Religion of that Island, and in every way assisted the indigenous cultures and religions of Asia to assert themselves and protect their respective heritage. It may be said that he practised Masonic principles to the very end and set an example of service to his fellow-men, far from his native land – an example worthy of emulation – living respected and dying regretted. BEING USEFUL TO MANKIND One of the most eloquent and exhaustive exhortations that an entrant into Freemasonry, and indeed any Brother, is privileged to hear is the Charge after Initiation. There is nothing in the Charge which is superfluous or needs amendment, alteration or addition – so complete it is, in its advice to an initiate on how to conduct himself, as a Mason, and a Human Being. From this Charge, many guidelines can be sought and drawn, from which to set out a course of conduct through life. However, there is one phrase which carries with it an enormous amount of meaning, purpose and practical utility which is the content of my message for the month. What does being useful to Mankind mean, through which as the Charge continues to say, one becomes an ornament to the society of which one has become a member. As a member, of any community, one has duties in one’s work place, in a family circle, in a social environment which encompasses ‘civic duties’, fraternal relationships and a myriad other contacts that one makes on a day-to-day, and even on a minute-to-minute basis. Being useful in the various roles or duties means making a positive impact, rendering a discernible input or service, that enhances the value of a relationship or achieves a desired communal goal. Being useful also means that one has been objectively a contributor to a social good which does not necessarily provide a subjective benefit to the contributor. It is by definition an act of self-less service, for its output has to be recognized as benefiting some one other than one-self. In that phrase therefore lies a whole philosophy, a complete code of conduct for by various acts of ‘being useful’ one can certainly achieve the recognition of being an ornament to our society, or any society for that matter. THE STRENGTH OF CHARACTER The Nation has been recently super-charged with the emotions engendered by our common love – Cricket – which has ranged through the entire gamut of abundant hope, and the depths of despair. Inevitably defeat brings forth recrimination, and the search for culprits to blame and hang. Once a suitable ‘decoy-devil or devils’ is identified, all abuse is heaped on him or them, effigies burnt, homes wrecked, and the mob departs in the dubious satisfaction that justice has been done, and restitution obtained. The sad fact is that, in seeking immediate individual ‘culprits’ we miss the plot and the point. The system which inevitably brings forth these aberrations of promise and performance, of unreasonable rewards and expectations is never seriously examined or rectified. So history repeats itself, and the cycle goes on from high hopes to dismal despair. We need to look at the blemishes in our national character, which idolizes people and not performance, which increasingly meters success by measurements of money and material yardsticks – and in the process lose our sense of balance. We add politics to this mix which increases the incendiary effects. Most successes and careers are short-lived and the really successful man, cricketer or whosoever, is to be judged by not only his performance on any given stage, but in the manner of his leaving it. A leader or performer of character, knows when he has to depart, for a well-timed’ departure is the final act of grace, and indeed of humility – to acknowledge that one has reached the limit of one’s utility to the given role, and is humble enough to acknowledge it. Perfection is purely and simply, as we Masons acknowledge, an attribute of Divinity, and so is indispensability. All men, cricketers included, are human and dispensable, and the sooner one acknowledges it the better he and the nation are for it. Character, therefore, as nurtured through breeding and building is the bed rock on which individual and national foundations are laid. Mere symbolisms unsupported by actions; are treacherous to the construction of such moral edifices. Our fraternity makes valiant attempts through its tenets to build these columns of character, and holds out a glimmer of hope that could relieve feelings of doom and despair, even if, ipso facto, we cannot get ourselves a more conscientious National Cricket team, by our fraternal exhortations ! IMPROVISATION AND INNOVATION This may seem an odd subject for a Masonic message in a fraternal context where Innovation is actively discouraged, at any rate as it pertains to our practices, within our Conclaves. However, times are a – changing and some improvisation and re-arrangement of our practices and communications outside of our Temples and Rituals, may require consideration. Evolutionary change rather any revolutionary departures could be considered, as has been evidenced lately by advisories from the Rulers on the inclusion of Ladies in our social activities, and even at festive Boards, participation in community charities and functions etc. The very necessity of having us Masons, come out of the veil of (needless) secrecy and put out our social obligations to the public eye, is in itself a departure from what used to be the norm. Recently, I was in London for the April Investiture Meeting, preceding which the M W Bro Lord Northampton, M.W.Pro Grand Master took a meeting of the Provincial and District Grand Masters, to lay out for discussion, subjects of common interest. One of them was concerning the wearing of Chains by Rulers when representing the fraternity and the respective jurisdiction at a community function. The Pro Grand Master clarified that it was appropriate for a Ruler to be wearing his Chain when representing his Masonic District or Province at a Community (Charity) function. Obviously there would have to be a discernible reason for the concerned Ruler officially representing the fraternity at the said function, and hence wearing his Chain of office. Improvisation has also been a possible method of dealing with our Cornwallis Home Project where the ambience of the Home has to be positioned more as an ‘assisted Living’ concept than as an Old Age Home. Moreover, we need to reflect on the necessity for such a facility to be reserved purely for Senior Citizens – why not go for a mix of Residents – some transients in a serviced apartment mode, regardless of age, on daily rentals, juxtaposed with Senior Citizens on the monthly rental modes? Added to this could be an innovative concept of developing, in the rest of our property, a Masonic / Public Auditorium and Convention Centre, which will add to the Home’s income-generating capacity. Charities need to be self-sufficient within themselves, and their current investments which should be serviced by their own revenues, and not solely by further infusions of Capital (Donations). We do need Donors and Donations but to add thereby to the Corpus of our Charities, not merely to meet revenue expenditure. Obviously all this needs a gradual step-by-step approach to maintain financial discipline. The Cornwallis Home will continue to need our Brethren’s support for at least another 12 months, as all such new installations need a little time to pick up custom. Moreover, the new International Airport, now under construction in the vicinity of our Home Project, is due for inauguration late next year, when this Home also should take off in earnest. In the interim, we must meet our financial obligations, and my Brethren will hear from me separately on this issue. Some legitimate and careful improvisation and innovative thinking will be required in this behalf as well. IN MODERATION One of the watchwords of our fraternity is Temperance, while one of the working tools is presented with the representation symbolically of spending parts of our day in work, part in prayer and part in helping someone in need. All point towards moderation of one’s activities, giving each part of it a place, and not over-indulging in the one or the other. From years of practice, and having involved myself in several pursuits of pleasure, play and profession, I would heartily recommend moderation as the one guiding precept which has kept one not only out of serious mischief, but from needless anxieties of body and soul, while remaining engaged with the world. Our fraternal principles constantly exhort us to be temperate, to follow a well-regulated course of discipline as may best conduce to the preservation of our corporeal and mental faculties in their fullest energy - so one needs to say no more. There’s another practical and utilitarian aspect to moderation, which is that it enables one to avoid the danger of any one activity monopolizing the use of one’s time. The careful apportioning and management of Time, in itself, will lead to moderate usage, not only of that precious commodity, but also the effect that such allocation has on the best use of one’s faculties. Time should also not be allowed to hang heavy, leading to boredom which in turn leads to a profligate use of leisure by turning to ‘time-pass’ activities such as propping up a bar or becoming a TV couch-potato. Moderation therefore seeks to control also the abuse of pleasures once sought, but through over-indulgence become a liability – be it bingeing on food or any other recipe for reducing tedium. Why, I can even include excessive Masonic activity in this category unless it be an attachment to its recommended way of life and not to the trappings that accompany such an attachment. There can never be too much of shared things – Love, Charity, Faith, Peace. The community needs our excesses of these attributes, the individual in us needs moderation in the pursuit of our own satisfactions. May we all seek to be moderate, in this increasingly self-centred world, bringing credit to ourselves and to the society to which we belong. THE PURSUIT OF HAPPINESS An oft-used term, the title of a popular motion picture, and a contradiction in terms. Can Happiness be pursued, is it an end, of a journey ? Or is it a state of mind caused by satisfactions, and contentment at having achieved some goals, of comfort, well-being, health, and an absence of want. The absence or conquest of want must be the key goal as the continuance of ‘wanting’ for better terms from life, of wealth, status or social recognition, is at the root of much unhappiness. Happiness cannot be pursued through the acquisition of objects of desire per se, in a permanent sense, for the satisfactions achieved through those acquisitions are at best fleeting – and the pleasure disappears with the acquisition and the passage of time. Therefore we could make a case for contentment, for the absence of want, or being contented with what one already has, and to avoid seeking further ‘satisfactions’. If one is not satisfied with three meals (a lot as it is already) the addition of a fourth is not going to increase one’s satisfaction. The analogy can be expanded to include so many other objects of desire – money, cars, mobiles, music systems mistresses or whatever. To quote Schopenhauer “Wealth is like sea water; the more we drink, the thirstier we become, and the same is true of fame”. Hence, the good man, and the practising Mason if you like, is one who is aware of his level of contentment, works hard to achieve it, and rests on achieving that level, and hopefully extends his hand to help others in achieving similar levels of satisfaction. Such is the source of Charity for one cannot with an open hand be giving and grasping at the same time. In a sense, by the act of giving one can perhaps pursue happiness, for it blesses the giver with positive feelings, and re-inforces his feelings of happiness. However, it also presumes that the giving is not motivated by any other agenda than a genuine spirit of generosity and Brotherhood – and an awareness in the face of adversity in another, that there, but for the grace of God, go I. Happiness is a state of mind, not in itself the result of a pursuit, except for such inward examination which will determine one’s own level of contentment with the various objects of one’s desire. Happiness also derives from the absence of negative emotions such as greed, envy, fear, self-pity and so on. Happiness perhaps is best derived from the pursuit of the knowledge of oneself, as our lessons in Masonry advise us to limit one’s desires within the compass of one’s attainments. THE ABSENCE OF HEROES The present generation is singularly lacking in one respect, much as they are over-endowed with other ‘satisfactions’ – they are deprived of real heroes to emulate and worship and have therefore to be content with celluloid ones or caricatures from the playing fields of one kind or the other. Our generation had the Father of the Nation, our first Prime Minister, the Architect of our Constitution, Dr. Bhimrao Ambedkar, Jayaprakash Narayan the Leader of our Democratic renaissance. Acharya Vinobha Bhave and many others, particularly Teachers, even if considered supporting actors on our national stage. Therefore it is not surprising that our recently retired President Dr. Kalam has been invested with so much respect and affection from the public which having been starved of demonstrative, dedicated leadership has found one in him – a scholar statesman, without question. So at last a Hero ! A society needs heroes not only for emulation but to derive from them a sort of collective confidence and self-respect as if to say there goes one of us. Even if the admirers and fans are unable to reach such heroic levels, there is a discernible knock-on effect of having acknowledged heroes in our midst – a sort of reflected glory. However, it is also a mark of the society itself to recognize that the Heroes’ accolade is bestowed upon the activities or values that it most respects and indeed follows. In a society of criminals, the Don or gang over-lord is the hero, in a repressed society subjected to inequalities, a Robin Hood is invested with a heroic profile, and so on. To produce heroes at least in the future we have to invest in them now – hence the indubitable necessity to invest in our youth (the child is the father of the Man) to inculcate in them the right values so that they may evolve into characters that will in time, come to command respect – and perhaps attain heroic status. Parents need to be more mindful of this aspect in training their children, we need teachers who are worthy of respect, as indeed our generation’s teachers were – and from these ‘metallurgists’ comes the metal that builds the sturdy framework of potential heroes. Sometimes, I wonder how we can help from our various social service organizations to provide the soft skills that our youth need, to mould them into better citizens, and indeed better human beings. Brethren could most usefully read, digest and follow our ritual book which has all those values embedded in them – worthy of emulation! OF BEING INCLUSIVE AND EXCLUSIVE Human beings, from time immemorial, have formed social groupings which included some and excluded others – for reasons connected with work, culture, beliefs, self-defence and many other reasons. As cultures developed and lost purely locational focus the groups expanded, both in terms of numbers and geographical positioning. Moreover, the inclusiveness of these groupings based on common under-pinnings, led also to a certain exclusivity – keeping others out, for one reason or another. Castes in India are an extreme example, born originally out of a division of Labour, they became bastions of exclusivity – one could not climb from one to the other, at least in our times of recorded history. Craft groups such as the original stone-Masons and other skilled artisans, kept a strict vigil on outsiders, and had in place long apprenticeship periods in which to judge the Craft-skill and character of the aspirant for recognition and inclusion into the Guild. From these operative Masons, our speculative fraternity took it’s cues and symbolic tools, and formed, in turn, an exclusive Brotherhood – only latterly practicing more inclusive practices of seeking public acceptance, for instance. There seems always to be two sides to the coin – of social groupings – the one being to include the like, and the other to exclude the rest, on some ground or the other. The more apparently exclusive the group, the more the ‘outsider’ wishes to breach its battlements – the insatiable thirst for the forbidden ! Moreover, whatever egalitarians may preach, human beings appear to love inequalities – of status, power and possessions – to be able to flaunt the discernible difference – the one-upmanships that we continue to see with increasing regularity, for individuals to somehow stand out from the mob. “All men are equal, but some or more equal than others”! Which brings me to our own fraternity – which emphasizes the Brotherhood of Man and indeed that we are all on the level, being urged to leave behind all the exclusive social ranks and privileges outside the door of our Lodges – and be inclusive in every respect within their walls. Nevertheless, within our fraternity, we have our own visible ranks, but at all times we must remind ourselves that behind the brass and gilt lies a heart that beats in sympathy with that of his fellow-Man. To be exclusive while being inclusive – that’s the secret of being a Freemason. Post Script – On the 1st of this month we celebrate Elders Day everywhere – include them in your thoughts and actions on this day and beyond ! 20 / 20 VISION Until a few years ago 20/20 referred to the perfect vision – more of an ophthalmic reference point than any other. Latterly, however, these respective numbers have come to represent an altered vision of Cricket – India’s national game and its current Religion. To the pantheon of Gavaskar, Tendulkar, Ganguly and Dravid, a new Divinity has been added – found in the foothills of Jharkhand going by the name of Dhoni. From this development we now have a new focus, and new theories about the relative muscularity and athleticism of the ‘small-town’ origins of the new breed of cricketer. Young legs that have trodden rural paths now fly around the fields of modern-day instant cricket – the new super-men! There’s no gainsaying the fact that everywhere in the country we see examples of youthful energy, even a minor manifestation now on the national political scene – and with it the aggressive self-confidence, arising from innocence, as some would say. Our concern in the fraternity should be as to how we can tap this energy and bring into our fold the productive youth of our society with the capacity of giving – of matching earnings and enterprise with social responsibility. Much is being made of the need for corporate social responsibility – indeed it’s the current watch-word of many of our national and multi-national corporate groups. As Freemasons, we have a three hundred year experience of the art and practice of giving – we could be the channel through which these youthful enthusiasms are routed for the benefit of those who are still out of the loop – in terms of the benefits now accruing from the country’s rapid development. Such could be our fraternity’s 20/20 vision for the years ahead, as I am, for one, convinced that in India we shall see the most encouraging growth of interest in Freemasonry in the years to 2020. Interestingly both Cricket and Freemasonry claim a similar provenance! We have to justify our claims of playing a fair game before the Great Umpire raises his index finger for that last time! Post Script Shortly we shall be celebrating Deepavali – our Festival of Lights on the occasion of which I send all my Brethren my warm fraternal greetings for a Happy Festival Season and a Prosperous Year beyond, for those who start a fresh fiscal year on that day. Do include the less privileged in your gifts ! CHARITY AND CHANGE As we approach the end of the year, and the festivals of Id-ul-fitr Deepavali and Christmas having followed one upon the other, the spirit of Giving envelopes us. Requests are received from many less-endowed quarters for those of us who are relatively better off to contribute something for their participation in the festive season. Recently I also read a report from our Freemasons’ Grand Charity in which it was said that a third of the applications received by it were from India. Which set me thinking that this should, over the next decade or so, be subject to change, as many other parallel trends seem to indicate. What are these Trends? Trade and Technology along with the attendant monetary flows seem to be reversing direction from West to East even migration of Labour inwards into India appear to have commenced, and the trends are indicative of a strong reversal of fortunes to the advantage of India (and China etc.) and the World. Medical Tourism is being touted as the next wave of services growth for this country, and along with it our Masonic Charities should also see a different directional flow in the years to come. We can envisage areas of charitable collaboration between international charities of all kinds with Indian Charity resources, which would bring down the cost of caring for the sick and elderly. Wouldn’t Hospices in India be cheaper than in the West, and more caring even perhaps ? I for one would like to see the day when a third of the costs of our Freemasons’ Charities is being contributed in funds and in kind from Indian Masonic sources. Besides costs, the Masonic Charities abroad could also provide to us here the technologies attendant upon these initiatives along with the overall management expertise which our social service organizations may lack. Therefore during this season of Giving let us think not only of the immediate needs of the under-privileged, but also of how best we can prepare ourselves for a future when we attain the more laudable position of becoming donors rather than petitioners. We convey to all our Brethren the Season’s Compliments and wish them all and their families a Very Happy, Prosperous and Healthy New Year of Giving ! |
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Maintained by
J.M.I. Sait for
the DGL - Madras |
