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Robert G. Davis, 33°
Past President The Philalethes Society P.O. Box 70 Guthrie, Oklahoma 73044-0070 |
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Robert G. Davis, 33°
Past President The Philalethes Society P.O. Box 70 Guthrie, Oklahoma 73044-0070 |
In every mythology the world has ever known, there is the story of the
Hero’s quest. It is the search of Gilgamesh for the Flower of Immortality,
of Odysseus for home, of Parsifal for the Holy Grail. It is also the quest
of the Master Mason for the Lost Word and of the Scottish Rite Mason for
the Royal Secret. If we, as Masonic Brothers, are to get the full benefit
of what Freemasonry and the Scottish Rite have to offer, it is important
that we first understand why we are Masons. The purpose of our systems
of Degrees is to set each of us on a personal path to enlightenment.
When one approaches the Degrees for the first time or returns to enjoy
a Reunion of his Valley, he is participating in a most ancient tradition.
He is actively engaged in the eternal quest for a higher awareness; he
is reaching across the generations to join his Brothers, both living and
dead, in the timeless pursuit of that which is noble in man. Certainly,
that pursuit begins in the Degrees of the Symbolic Lodge. Indeed, one of
the first things we learn in the Craft Degrees is that Masonry is a progressive
science, meaning that we learn by our own stages of experience and that
all the Degrees of Masonry represent a journey.
We are taught in the Entered Apprentice Degree, for instance, that
the Lodge is a representation of the world and that our journey through
it is a representation of our own journey through life. As we progress
through the Degree, we learn the importance of our outward relationships
with others and with the institutions of our society. Then in the Fellowcraft
Degree, we are taught that it takes a combination of intellect, experience,
intuition, feeling, emotion, and education to make real progress in life.
We discover our dual nature and that there is a spirit within us which
can lead us to improve ourselves. In the Master Mason Degree, we turn inward
and come face to face with our own worst enemy, our ego. Then we are given
the opportunity to transcend our passions and prejudices, and become true
to who we truly are.
And
it is only when we have thus prepared ourselves (through the quarries of
our own effort) to this level of insight and understanding that we are
ready to advance to the higher awareness that can then be discovered in
our journey through the Scottish Rite. Indeed, the experience of the Candidate
in the ceremonies of Freemasonry is supposed to be a transforming one in
the human psyche. As we begin our journey, there is an important reason
for Masonic ritual. The words are there for a purpose. Everything is allegorical,
and we each discover that, when we are ready, when we have prepared ourselves
enough to become receptive to the meanings which underlie our ritual words,
only then will we be transformed as men. We will not only be better men
for our families and in our society, but we will also improve ourselves.
The journey in Masonry, then, is indeed a quest for what is noble in
man. But it does not end with the Craft Degrees. The Scottish Rite is designed
to take the Master Mason, from whatever point of awareness he has gained
in his journey through the Lodge, and carry him to a new level of insight.
And it’s a different kind of experience than the Blue Lodge Degrees.
The Blue Lodge hopes to give the Candidate a personal adventure and,
through that participatory experience, to engage his emotions, moving him
beyond those emotions to his intellect. The Rite has as its task engaging
the Candidate’s intellect directly, and, in so doing, encouraging his introspection
which will then result in his personal enlightenment. That is why the Blue
Lodge and Scottish Rite work well together. The one continues in knowledge
and reason what the other introduces in form and discipline.
Clearly, the Scottish Rite is a progressive system of Degrees, and
each Degree has a series of lessons, a context in time, a grouping (Lodge
of Perfection, Chapter of Rose Croix, etc.), and a historical association.
Each Degree then explores a specific set of ideas, has an overall theme
(religion, knighthood, etc.), and comprises a guidepost, or marker, which
gives us insight about our own Masonic journey, our personal quest.
It is important to note that these ideas and associations are almost
never directly stated. They are supposed to be discovered. And we are free
to disagree on whether or not all of the above elements can be found in
every Degree. After all, we are each a little different, and we find ourselves
in unique situations. There are often no right answers, although there
are some which are clearly wrong. The power of the Scottish Rite of Freemasonry
is its ability to integrate its lessons into the psyche of each individual,
meeting him on the level of his own experience and giving him an opportunity
to be transformed by the path of his own quest.
From my perspective, the instruction of the Rite takes the form of
four quests, with each Body of the Rite concerning itself primarily with
one of these journeys to new knowledge and self-understanding. And again,
these quests never really end. They continue throughout our lives. But,
taken together, they do some pretty profound things within. So when thinking
about the Rite, it may be helpful to look at your journey as a series of
milestones to attain while following the four quests. These quests can
be generally described as follows:
Robert
G. Davis
is the Secretary of the Scottish Rite Bodies in Guthrie,
Oklahoma. He is Past Master of two Oklahoma Lodges, serves as editor of
the Oklahoma Scottish Rite Mason, is actively involved with Masonic education
and renewal programs both in Oklahoma and nationally, and is the immediate
Past President of the international Philalethes Society.