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Buddahood. By the ancient Jews it was symbolized as the robe of
the high priest, the Garment of Glory unto the Lord. To the
Masonic brethren, it is the robe of Blue and Gold - the Star of
Bethlehem - the Wedding Garment of the Spirit.
Three Fates weave the threads of this living garment, and man
himself is the creator of his Fates. The triple thread of thought,
action, and desire binds him when he enters the sacred place or
seeks admittance into the tiled lodge, but later this same cord is
woven into a splendid garment whose purified folds clothe the
sacred spark of his being.
We all like to be well dressed. Robes of velvet and ermine stand
for symbols of rank and glory; but too many ermine capes have
covered empty hearts, too many crowns have rested on the brows of
tyrants. These are symbols of earthly things and in the world of
matter are too often misplaced. The true coronation robe - the
garment molded after the pattern of heaven, the robe of glory of
the Master Mason - is not of the earth; for it tells of his
spiritual growth, his deeper understanding, and his consecrated
life. The garments of the high priest of the tabernacle were but
symbols of his own body, which, purified and transfigured,
glorified the life within. The notes of the tiny silver bells that
tinkled with never-ending music from the fringe of his vestments
told of a life harmonious, while the breastplate which rested amid
the folds of the ephod reflected the gleams of heavenly truth from
the facets of its gems.
There is another garment without a seam which we are told was often
worn by the ancient brethren in the days of the Essenes, when the
monastery of the lowly Nazarenes rose in silent grandeur from the
steep sides of Mt. Tabor, to be reflected in the inscrutable waters
of the Dead Sea. This one-piece garment is the spiral thread of
human life which, when purified by right motive and right living,
becomes a tiny thread of golden light, eternally weaving the
purified garment of regenerated bodies. Like the wh ite of the
lambskin apron, it stands for the simple, the pure, and the
harmless. These are the requirements of the Master Mason, who must
renounce forever this world's pomp and vanity and seek to weave
that simple one-piece robe of the soul which marks the Master,
consecrated and consummated.
With the eye of the mind we still can see the lowly Nazarene in his
spotless robe of white - a garment no king's ransom could buy.
This robe is woven out of the actions of our daily lives, each deed
weaving into the endless pattern a thread, black or white,
according to the motives which inspired our actions. As the Master
Mason labors in accordance with his vows, he slowly weaves this
spotless robe out of the transmuted energy of his efforts. It is
this white robe which must be worn under the vestments of state,
and whose spotless surface sanctifies him for the robes of glory,
which can be worn only over the stainless, seamless garment of his
purified life.
When this moment arrives and the candidate has completed his task -
when he comes purified and regenerated to the altar of wisdom, he
is truly baptized of the fire and its flame blazes up within
himself. From him pour forth streams of light, and a great aura of
multicolored fire bathes him with its radiance. The sacred flame
of the gods has found its resting place in him, and through him
renews its covenant with man. He is then truly a Freemason, a
child of light. This wonderful garment, of which all ea rthly
robes are but symbols, is built of the highest qualities of human
nature, the noblest of ideals, and the purest of aspirations. Its
coming is made possible only through the purification of body and
unselfish service to others in the name of the Creator.
When the Mason has built all these powers into himself, there
radiates from him a wonderful body of living fire, like that which
surrounded the Master Jesus, at the moment of His transfiguration.
This is the Robe of Glory, the garment of Blue and Gold which,
shining forth as a five-pointed star of light, heralds the birth of
the Christ within. Man is then indeed a son of God, pouring forth
from the depths of his own being the light rays which are the life
of man.
Striking hearts that have long been cold, this spiritual ray raises
them from the dead. It is the living light which illuminates those
still buried in the darkness of materiality. It is the power which
raises by the strong grip of the lion's paw. It is the Great Light
which, seeking forever the spark of itself within all living
things, reawakens dead ideals and smothered aspirations with the
power of the Master's Eternal Word. Then the Master Mason becomes
indeed the Sun in Leo; and, reaching downward i nto the tomb of
crystallization, raises the murdered Builder from the dead by the
grip of the Master Mason.
As the sun awakens the seedlings in the ground, so this Son of Man,
glowing with the light divine, radiates from his own purified being
the mystic shafts of redeeming light which awaken the seeds of hope
and truth and a nobler life. Discouragement and suffering too
often brings down the temple, burying under its debris the true
reason for being and the higher motives for living.
As the glorious robe of the sun - the symbol of all life - bathes
and warms creation with its glow, this same robe, enfolding all
things, warms them and preserves them with its light and life. Man
is a god in the making, and as in the mystic myths of Egypt, on the
potter's wheel he is being molded. When his light shines out to
lift and preserve all things, he receives the triple crown of
godhood, and joins that throng of Master Masons who, in their robes
of Blue and Gold, are seeking to dispel the darknes s of night with
the triple light of the Masonic Lodge.
Ceaselessly the Norns spin the thread of human fate. Age in and
age out, upon the looms of destiny are woven the living garments of
God. Some are rich in glorious colors and wondrous fabrics, while
others are broken and frayed before they leave the loom. All,
however, are woven by these three Sisters - thought, action, and
desire - with which the ignorant build walls of mud and bricks of
slime between themselves and truth; while the pure of heart weave
from these radiant threads garments of celestial bea uty.
Do what we will, we cannot stop those nimble fingers which twist
the threads, but we may change the quality of the thread they use.
We should give these three eternal weavers only the noble and the
true; then the work of their hands will be perfect. The thread
they twist may be red with the blood of others, or dark with the
uncertainties of life; but if we resolve to be true, we may restore
its purity and weave from it the seamless garment of a perfect
life. This is man's most acceptable gift upon the al tar of the
Most High, his supreme sacrifice to the Creator.
FRIENDSHIP
What nobler relationship than that of friend? What nobler
compliment can man bestow than friendship? The bonds and ties of
the life we know break easily, but through eternity one bond
remains - the bond of fellowship - the fellowship of atoms, of star
dust in its endless flight, of suns and worlds, of gods and men.
The clasped hands of comradeship unite in a bond eternal - the
fellowship of spirit. Who is more desolate than the friendless
one? Who is more honored than one whose virtues have given him a fr
iend? To have a friend is good, but to be a friend is better. The
noblest title ever given man, the highest title bestowed by the
gods, was when the great Jove gazed down upon Prometheus and said,
"Behold, a friend of man!" Who serves man, serves God. This is the [ Pobierz całość w formacie PDF ]