The Lost Keys of Freemasonry - RoseCroix.org.au

eceive them. The true Mason realizes that the work of the Mystery Schools in theworld is of an inclusive rather than an exclusive nature, and that the only lodgewhich is b road enough to express his ideals is one whose dome is the heavens,whose pillars are the corners of creation, whose checker-board floor is composed ofthe crossing currents of human emotion and whose altar is the human heart. Creedscannot bind the true seeker for truth. Realizing the unity of all truth, the Mason alsorealizes that the hierarchies laboring with him have given him in his varying degreesthe mystic spiritual rituals of all the Mystery Schools in the world, and if he would fillhis place i n the plan he must not enter this sacred study for what he can get out ofit but that he may learn how to serve.In Freemasonry is concealed the mystery of creation, the answer to the problem ofexistence, and the path the student must tread in order to join those who are reallythe living powers behind the thrones of modern national and international affairs.The true student realizes most of all that the taking of degrees does not make a mana Mason. A Mason is not appointed; he is evolved and he must realize that theposition he holds in the exoteric lodge means nothing compared to his position in thespiritual lodge of life. He must forever discard the idea that he can be told orinstructed in the sacred Mysteries or that his being a member of an organizationimproves him in any way. He must realize that his duty is to build and evolve thesacred teachings in his own being: that nothing but his own purified being can unlockthe door to the sealed libraries of human consciousness, and that his Masonic ritesmust eternally be speculative until he makes them operative by living the life of themystic Mason. His karmic responsibilities increase with his opportunities. Those whoare surrounded with knowledge and opportunity for self-improvement and makenothing of these opportunities are the lazy workmen who will be spiritually, if notphysically, cast out of the temple of the king.The Masonic order is not a mere social organization, but is composed of all thosewho have banded themselves together to learn and apply the principles of mysticismand the occult rites. They are (or should be) philosophers, sages and sober-mindedindividuals who have dedicated themselves upon the Masonic altar and vowed by allthey hold dear that the world shall be better, wiser, and happier because they havelived. Those who enter these mystic rites and pass between the pillars seeking eitherprestige or commercial advantage are blasphemers, and while in this world we maycount them as successful, they are the cosmic failures who have barred themselvesout from the true rite whose keynote is unselfishness and whose workers haverenounced the things of earth.In ancient times many years of preparation were required before the neophyte waspermitted to enter the temple of the Mysteries. In this way the shallow, the curious,the faint of heart, and those unable to withstand the temptations of life wereautomatically eliminated by their inability to meet the requirements for admission.The successful candidate who did pass between the pillars entered the temple,keenly realizing his sublime opportunity, his divine obligation, and the mysticprivilege which he had earned for himself through years of special preparation. Onlythose are truly Masons who enter their temple in reverence, who seek not theephemeral things of life but the treasures which are eternal, whose sole desire is toknow the true mystery of the Craft that they may join as honest workmen those whohave gone before as builders of the Universal Temple. The Masonic ritual is not aceremony, but a life to be lived. Those alone are truly Masons who, dedicating theirlives and their fortunes upon the altar of the living flame, undertake the construction