A Search for the Genuine Secrets?

DAVID SIMS ©
Cornerstone Society Conference, London, 24th June 2006

Mr. Chairman, M.W. Pro G.M. brethren all, thank you for inviting me to deliver this first paper today, and thank you also for coming so early in the afternoon, - you hardly had time for a heavy lunch so hopefully there’s no need to sleep anything off. Thank you also for being here when you could have been watching the football or taking your wife shopping, or whatever, - the point is that you have taken time out to be here today and this shows a certain seriousness; seriousness that created this society to delve deeper into what Freemasonry is really saying to us.

This need for a more serious look at our Craft has been pointed out by many brethren over many years and indeed today, W.Bro. Kai Hughes will talk about searching out the inner mind or soul for clues about our problems in Freemasonry today. This challenge to get to the heart of our Craft has seen some excellent papers presented to this society, - papers that were well researched and erudite and, I’m sure, well delivered, – all aiming to throw light on the nature of our Craft and, ultimately, its raison d’etre.

Some of you may sense that there is a “but” coming up after this fulsome praise, and there is, - but I want to do it as gently as possible.

Let me put it this way. W.Bro. The Venerable Dr. Mark Dalby in an address reported in the January Masonic Quarterly, made reference to those beautifully poetic verses in Ecclesiastes, Chapter 12, which the Scots use so effectively at the most crucial point of their Third Degree, and which, as he points out, goes on to say, – “Of (the) making (of) many books there is no end; and much study is a weariness of the flesh.” So the point that I think we should bear in mind from the outset is that, any idea that spiritual insights can be uncovered in an academic or intellectual way is contrary to what Ecclesiastes tells us, and is also contrary to our own personal experience. Likewise none of the great Masters that the world has seen, such as Jesus or The Buddha, have said that spiritual understanding requires scholarship, - and neither does Freemasonry, even with its oft-quoted and significant reference to a daily advancement in Masonic knowledge.

This does not of course mean that some guidance and pointing in the right direction is not valuable, - only that the point about spirituality is that, once we have the basics right, it’s rather like sex, - there’s not a lot of point in just talking about it. But there is a need to clarify spiritual basics because without clarity, it is difficult to give the more spiritual parts of our ritual credibility, - and without credibility how can we really take our ritual seriously? You may of course object and say that all of our ritual is taken seriously, but in attending lodges in Africa, America, Europe, Australia and the Far East over the past 35 years, I have virtually never heard the Search for the Genuine Secrets of a M.M. referred to as a real, live opportunity, - nor even as an academic subject. How serious is that?

But clarifying even just the spiritual basics is a real challenge. As individuals we do try to be serious of course, - we do try to address all the questions that our rational mind throws up. We would love to be able to make sense of our world by working things out rationally, but we learn the hard way that neither scholarship nor rational thinking rewards us with spiritual insights. The writers of our Third Degree were of course well aware that these things cannot be uncovered in a purely rational way and pointedly refer, in our Third Degree Charge, to “that mysterious veil which the eye of human reason cannot penetrate unless assisted by that light which is from above” or, if you wish, “The Rays of Heaven.” Or, as Einstein put it, - “The intuitive mind is a sacred gift and the rational mind (the eye of human reason) is a faithful servant.

We have created a society that honours the servant and has forgotten the gift.” This is hardly a difficult point to accept of course, - most of us are only too familiar with our preference for our rational mind over our intuitive mind, - our preference for our own thoughts rather than listening to our intuition, - but how can any light from above, - any delicate intuition – possibly competes with our own thoughts? Einstein of course, was at the leading edge of human thinking, and it is interesting that the writers of our ritual were referring to the same obstacle, or rather challenge, over 200 years earlier.

So, having made the point that we are talking about the need to address the deeper spiritual nature of our Craft as a real, live opportunity with our intuitive mind rather than as a “left brain” academic subject, as both Ecclesiastes and Einstein tell us, not to mention our own Third Degree Charge, - how exactly does our Craft present us with the way forward?

Well, as we are well aware, while we are given a great deal of guidance, our ritual is not explicit about the way forward or, more correctly, it does not tell us specifically how this real live opportunity works in practice. This of course, is how it has always been throughout history. The individual has always had the opportunity to take advantage of a completely natural and personal process that brings a gradual awareness of his place in a larger Scheme of Things, - but the Veil keeps hidden how this process works in practice. This gradual awareness comes as a knowing, or gnosis in the Gnostic tradition, as distinct from the ordinary information and details that our rational mind is used to receiving in daily life, - which is not the same thing at all. (The Canonbury Conference in November will be focusing on Gnostic movements by the way.) A preference for this natural process is why Eastern religions tend to be referred to as more experiential and holistic in nature, in contrast to the more dogmatic style of Western religions that have inevitably evolved to meet the Western need for more rationality and detail.

(If you want more information about this Western need for more detail, I would refer you to the recent work of Professor Nisbett (of Harvard and Michigan) particularly his book “The Geography of Thought” in which, with substantial experimental evidence, he shows how very different is the more holistic process of mentation in the more “right brain” East where there is generally less of a “left brain” need for so much detail and certainty about things and more focus on a bigger, more holistic picture. This Western demand for more detail and proof can be called a “left brain block” inasmuch as it is effectively impossible to penetrate the Veil with rational thinking alone, - as our Third Degree Charge pointedly tells us.)

The writers of our ritual also, were clearly aware of the importance of the Veil and likewise they also avoided giving specific detail about how the spiritual process actually works in practice. They gave us rather, moral principles and guidance for life that, if followed seriously, lead us naturally into the process of gradually being able to uncover the secrets of life by ourselves. In other words, our Craft does give us the age-old process by which man can actually penetrate the Veil, - but the lack of the explicitness and detail that we have come to expect has made it difficult for us to pick up on it.

One might therefore think that the writers of our ritual could not foresee this need for at least some explicitness in the modern era. But brethren, may I ask if they could really have been any more focused when they refer to this opportunity, to the exclusion of all else, except for tyling and proving, in the opening of our Master Mason Degree?

The opening of the degree could hardly be more pointed:

“What inducement have you to leave the East and go to the West? - To seek for that which was lost, which by your instruction and our own industry, we hope to find.”

“What is that which was lost? - The genuine secrets of a M.M.”

“Where do you hope to find them? - With the C.

”“Why with the C? - That being a point from which a M.M. cannot err.”

The master then says, “We will assist you to repair that loss and may Heaven aid our united endeavours.”

Continuing this focus, as soon as the candidate M.M. is admitted we pray, “Especially, we beseech Thee to impart Thy grace to this Thy servant, who offers himself a Candidate to partake with us the mysterious secrets of a M.M.” And, having worked the degree, the J.W. confirms to the W.M. that the brethren have indeed been in Search of the Genuine Secrets of a MM.

Brethren, this clear focus on the M.M.’s Search for the Genuine Secrets could hardly be more pointed, and yet the Search is, and has been, ignored by brethren everywhere.

I would suggest to you however, that this is hardly surprising, given that our popular Western culture has little idea of spiritual matters, - in fact, it is not so difficult to see how our popular mainstream culture of self-interest and materialism actually leads us in the other direction, - away from spirituality. But isn’t that why our Craft was founded, – so that we could establish our own deeper, more enlightened culture?

The deeper spiritual nature of our Craft is at odds with the popular culture, particularly now that we are overwhelmed by a mass media which very often caters to the lowest common denominator in society. If we and our lodges cannot get away from our popular culture’s lack of understanding of spiritual things however, - cannot get away from the normal thinking in the outside world - how can we possibly establish our own culture and understanding? Isn’t that why we have closed doors? But if we don’t make use of our closed doors, how can we create an atmosphere of credibility and mutual support that encourages brethren to actually pursue the challenging Search for the Genuine Secrets of a M.M. in practice?

But even with closed doors, how can we establish our own more enlightened culture when we have let into our lodges people who have little or no real interest in the spiritual nature of life, and therefore the spiritual nature of our Craft. We can hardly be surprised that our lodges, and Freemasonry as a whole, have ignored our original raison d’etre, as our M.W. Pro G.M. has pointed out, a little more delicately perhaps, in the past.

This of course is all rather depressing, if I may say so, - but probably inevitable, given the fact that from the time the Craft was organized, it has been science that has appeared to have all the answers and, inevitably, the credibility. Our scientists have put us on the moon, unraveled our DNA and doubled our life spans, - we have benefited so much, and we love all the rational understanding, - all those answers, details and explained mysteries. But brethren, these are all physical things, and our Search beyond the Veil involves our non-physical world. I think we are all aware that if science cannot observe and measure something, it simply doesn’t want to know, - and if we want to know about the larger nonphysical Scheme of Things, we are left on our own and to our particular religion, - if we have one.

As our M.M. Charge clearly shows, the writers of our ritual were only too well aware that a closed-minded science, and the acceptance of discoveries limited by the eye of human reason, was never going to be able to put us on the path to spiritual awareness, especially when it only deals with physical phenomena. It appears that the writers of our ritual anticipated that our religions would lose their credibility in the scientific era, at least for many people, and that there would be a need for something to guide us in the right direction that was less dogmatic. They crafted their response to this challenge with insight and beauty and it behooves us to honour them greatly, even if we don’t know exactly who they were.

But if the insights contained within our ritual, beautifully expressed and non-dogmatic as they are, lack credibility for us, how are we going to be able to take them seriously? What would be helpful of course is a way of giving the M.M.’s Search credibility that allows our rational mind to be serious about it, i.e. rational way.

So may I suggest to you brethren that if we could establish that at least some men have indeed been able to penetrate the Veil then this would show, in the rational way that we need, that our M.M.’s Search for the Genuine Secrets beyond the Veil is a real, live opportunity and is not just allegorical.

But what rational evidence could there be that some men have actually been able to penetrate the Veil? Our lowest common denominator culture hardly knows that any Veil even exists. But given, for the moment, that there is what we call a Veil, some people must have penetrated it and become aware of at least something of the larger Scheme of Things beyond it. What would give us this rational credibility that we need would be a commonality of understanding and teachings that reflected the same larger Scheme of Things from beyond the Veil. If this shared understanding came from many different individuals who had no contact with each other, this would be impossible to explain unless they were all referring to something that was actually true.

Such shared understandings might appear unlikely however, given that our culture tells us that no such commonality of teachings exists, - in fact our Western churches have traditionally told us specifically that they alone have the truth. But Western religions have always displayed a distinct lack of interest in other religions’ teachings revealing little real desire to throw light on the human situation and a strong preference for a reliance on belief. Unfortunately belief has, rather inevitably, given us a history of conflict, and tends to close our mind to everything that is contrary to what is believed. This is the opposite of a Search beyond the Veil which requires an open mind and a desire, not reluctance, to expand our awareness.

(I should mention that “credibility” has been used throughout this paper to indicate something that is convincing or worthy of acceptance, rather than belief. Faith, on the other hand, in the absence of physical or rational proof, is a valid and essential foundation for whatever religious principles are subscribed to.)

The East, with less of a need for belief generally, - less need for dogmatic detail and certainty and more interest in embracing a larger holistic picture (as Prof. Nisbett has clearly shown) has more interest in expanding their understanding, rather than limiting it. A good example of this was a Chinese Taoist expedition to Ceylon in the 6th Century sent to learn more about Buddhist understandings, - something that a dogmatic religion is unable to do. Another example, closer to home, was the Canonbury conference entitled “Many Faiths – One Religion” in 2004.

So if, like those 6th Century Taoists, we are prepared to open our minds to what other great Masters, not just our own, have said, (The Buddha, Jesus, Mani, Mohammed, Zoroaster, Lao Tzu and others) it’s not that difficult to see that their guidance and explanations were based on having seen the same larger Scheme of Things. It is this commonality of understanding that provides the rational credibility that we need in order in order to be able to accept that mankind does indeed have the ability to penetrate the Veil. We find that if we look at the original teachings for common understandings, rather than for differences, it is quite clear, while they have naturally expressed things with due regard for their local culture, that nevertheless the Masters were making direct reference to the same larger Scheme of Things.

This shared understanding among the Masters has of course been kept rather quiet over the years, and in contrast, our popular culture has embraced what we have generally been told, - that there is no rational basis for thinking that we can really find out about any larger Scheme of Things even if there is one.

But if we are able to rise above our popular culture, we have a perfectly sound basis for accepting what our Craft tells us about the M.M.’s Search and our ability to penetrate the Veil. If the great Masters in all different parts of the world, at different times in history, were able to refer to the same larger Scheme of Things, how could this be possible if they weren’t referring to something real, - that is simply not rational and not possible? If we are to be rational, how can we possibly explain away this phenomenon by saying that their common understandings, spread over thousands of years and different parts of the world, was just a massive coincidence.

There are of course many others, not just the great Masters, who have penetrated the Veil, to a greater or lesser extent, but let’s keep this relatively simple, - we’re just trying to establish the fact that, exactly as our Craft puts before us, it is possible for an individual to access at least some of the hidden secrets of mankind.

I don’t want to belabour this point, but unless we can get past the idea that it is not possible, really and genuinely possible, for an individual to find out at least something from beyond the Veil, then how can a M.M.’s Search have any real credibility for us? And without credibility, how are we ever going to be able to take it seriously? This is of course, exactly what we have seen, - an almost complete ignoring of our Search for the Genuine Secrets of a M.M.

So, to recap very briefly, - our rational thinking, on its own, cannot get us through what we call the Veil to uncover spiritual insights, unless it is assisted by that light which is from above. That our ritual refers to this natural process as the Search for the genuine secrets of a M.M. but that this Search beyond the Veil has been ignored because we don’t understand how it works and we therefore tend to go along with a popular culture that knows little of these things. But if we can rise above the common culture, the great Masters’ shared understandings give us a rational basis for the M.M.’s Search and the credibility that we need.

So, having established a little credibility in the reality of the M.M’s Search, what does our Craft actually say about penetrating the Veil in practice?

Well, in virtually all spiritual material from ancient times, the approach that has been taken (for good and valid reasons) is simply to point out ways in which we can move in the right direction, without giving much detail about how the process actually works, or why doing certain things is important. The ancient Masters talked mostly about how we can live in such a way that the fundamentals of life are functionally addressed. They illustrated how we can, if we wish, respond to this opportunity to live life functionally, with simple stories and, more so in the Eastern tradition, with some indication of the basic rules that apply to life on Earth. But they gave us little of the how and why that we would like to have that explains how these rules actually work in practice, and why they are so important.

Our Craft also, does not tell us how things work in the Scheme of Things, or even, specifically, how we are able to penetrate the Veil. It does not tell us why painful things happen or why doing certain things like helping our neighbour or letting go of things we want, or want to avoid, is important.

Unfortunately without first having details of how we are able to penetrate the Veil it is difficult for our rational mind to take it seriously in practice, because of our “left brain block.”

This is, more or less, a chicken and egg situation; unless we live our lives in the way that the Masters (and the Craft) have put before us, we are unable to access awareness and understanding from beyond the Veil, - but it’s difficult for us to live our lives to the very high standards that engage this natural process, without knowing how it works first.

What I would like to suggest therefore, is that throwing a little light on how penetrating the Veil actually works might help to break this impasse and make it easier for us to take the M.M.’s Search more seriously. In other words, a rational explanation of how the process works in practice might satisfy our rational mind’s need for details, and help us get our “left brain block” out of the way.

This is actually not so difficult because ultimately everything has a rationality; the problem is not that our rational mind cannot comprehend these things, - the problem is that our rational mind is unable to uncover these things on its own, - i.e., the Veil cannot be penetrated by the eye of human reason unless assisted by that light which is from above.

So, perhaps a rational explanation of how we are able to penetrate the Veil in practice would again satisfy our left brain demand for some detail, some credibility, and help us get past our “left brain block.” And we do now have something that is particularly helpful in throwing light on how we can penetrate the Veil that wasn’t available when our rituals were written. We have now discovered something that our ancestors would not have understood as being physical, but yet has clear physical effect. Something which bridges the gap between the physical and the non-physical. We have discovered energy in the form of electricity, radio waves and all the other frequencies of electro-magnetic energy, and in uncovering new laws of nature it is normal to be able to see something of the supernatural as well, just as we have been told, “As above, so below.”

We are also familiar these days with the fact that our physical world is made up absolutely and entirely of energy, - in the form of atoms made up of trapped electrons, protons and neutrons. We know, at least inasmuch as we’ve been told, that there really isn’t anything actually solid around us at all, - it’s all energy. During the 20th Century this became understood and accepted by the general public and should in no way be controversial or bizarre.

It’s also not very difficult to see that we have access to other energies as well, - emotional energy is quite easy to feel, particularly when it’s strong, and even less substantial mental energy is not so difficult to accept. In fact we have nothing but energy!

And we know that energy has two main characteristics, - frequency and amplitude. We also know that frequency enables us to tune in, to harmonize, - enabling us to use radio waves for communication, for example.

Is it that difficult, likewise, to see that the emotional and mental harmony that we aim for in our lodges puts us in tune with our brothers? And if this energy that embraces others is a more harmonious level than the energy of indifference, let alone actual disharmony, is it so difficult to see that this more harmonious frequency can also tune us in to more harmonious levels beyond the Veil, - after all, if everything in the physical world is made up entirely of energy then it is not so difficult to accept that everything beyond the Veil is also made up entirely of energy as well?

But what about amplitude? - Is it also that difficult to see that the strength of the energy, - the signal – is important in making contact?

The knowledge of electricity was not, of course, available to the writers of our ritual, although they may have been aware that the Indians and the Chinese had been using healing energies for thousands of years. But whether they were aware of Oriental practices or not, if energy is the basis on which everything works, they cannot have been unaware of it and must surely have given it a prominent place it in our ritual.

And of course they did. What is Brotherly Love except the energy of tuning in to the interests and welfare of others, - the frequency. What is Relief except the stronger physical energy of Brotherly Love in practice? - the physical effort, or amplitude, of actually helping someone, - just as our M.W. Grand Master made a point of emphasizing at the Craft Investiture this year. And, having tuned in with a high level frequency and sufficient amplitude, what is Truth except the awareness from the higher levels of harmony that we are tuned in to beyond the Veil.

Brethren, this is not allegorical, - anyone can use this process to tune in, - this is simple energy
mechanics, - it is what meditation aims at by getting the usual lower frequency physical, emotional and mental energies out of the way.

We accept, do we not, that we have a “Veil that the eye of human reason cannot penetrate”, - our personal experience confirms this only too well. Can we not also accept the next bit, “unless assisted by that light which is from above?” Surely it’s not so difficult to accept that connecting with “that light which is from above” involves tuning in with higher frequencies of Brotherly Love and the amplitude of physical effort, - Relief - especially when these are our three Grand Principles! Can we not use this knowledge of energy frequency and amplitude to give our three Grand Principles the credibility that our rational mind demands, - the credibility that our three Grand Principles so richly deserve?

Some brethren may of course say that they have practiced Brotherly Love and Relief and are not aware of penetrating any Veil. The best response to that comes from G.K. Chesterton who pointedly focused on the same problem when he said, -

“The Christian ideal has not been tried and found wanting. It has been found difficult and left untried.”

The actual practice of our three Grand Principles represents this higher level of difficulty of course. But to anyone who believes that we do generally practice our Grand Principles, I would have to say that, while we generally see a certain level of decorum in our lodges, and to a certain extent brethren are on their best behaviors, the fact is that so very often, the inevitable provocation that arises reveals a lack of real Brotherly Love. Only too frequently we see the same less than harmonious reaction that we would see in the outside world, - a standard that not only falls well short of the tuning in process that requires genuine harmony, but is actually the opposite of the coming together that we are aiming for. Haven’t our brethren heard about turning the other cheek, or the more subtle Eastern question “What is the sound of one hand clapping?”

Brethren, the energy, the feeling, cannot be faked and, if we don’t like provocations, - inevitable provocations I might add - we should remember that the real challenge is to be able to maintain feelings of warmth and harmony when it’s difficult, - almost anyone can do it when it’s easy. Not surprisingly then Relief, - the individual effort of actually helping someone else, particularly when we don’t have to - is also often in short supply, - certainly a few quid in the collection bag is not what it’s all about. And how many brethren understand that Truth with a capital T, refers to the awareness that we can tune in to beyond the Veil? – and not to the simple virtue of honesty.

The great Masters have all pointed to the importance of embracing the interests and welfare of others rather than self-interest, in a great coming together, - not just token gestures that are easy and don’t involve much personal effort; remember the widow’s mites and the Samaritan and all the other parables. (The need for personal initiative in our efforts of course, is why we are not a service organization.)

Trying to understand what our Craft puts before us however, is the easy bit, - the real challenge is making it work, - that’s the difficult bit that Chesterton pointed out so concisely. Such a challenge is clearly not for everyone, and that is why we need to be careful who we admit into our lodges.

But you may say, “If we only initiate those who are clearly interested in spiritual things, we are not going to have many candidates!” But I would beg to disagree with any such view, and not just because of all the interest we have seen in the “Da Vinci Code.” What man is there with a modicum of wit and intelligence who does not want to know what he is here on Earth for? What man of middle age does not begin to wonder sometimes what will happen when he dies? If people were aware that our Craft puts before us the way, - the only way - to access this knowledge, do you not think that the right people would be interested in our Craft? I am not personally at all a supporter of the idea that the more brethren we can get into our lodges, the stronger they will be, - if those brethren have little real interest in the deeper aspects of the Craft, will they support, or undermine, what our Craft puts before us? We need quality, not quantity, - brethren who are able to take the Search for the Genuine Secrets seriously, at least by grasping what is involved, even if they cannot always put it into practice. What destroys a lodge’s efforts to take these things seriously is the brother at the bar who says, “Oh, not more of that spiritual stuff.”

Negative comments like this reflect the ignorance of the outside world, - the lowest common denominator - how can we raise our game and wake up to the deeper understandings that our Craft puts before us unless we move away from a popular culture that knows almost nothing of these things?

It’s hardly a surprise that most of our lodges, - and we don’t need to limit this to our own Constitution - have become little more than dining clubs, with a ritual that is poorly understood except for the more obvious moral aspects, - and even these basic moral aspects are so often only given lip-service in practice.

It’s not a question of curtailing the wonderful fellowship and camaraderie that we enjoy, - quite the reverse; most lodges go to the trouble and expense of putting on a formal dinner in an atmosphere which is usually most conducive to both respect and enjoyment, - an atmosphere which makes it so much easier for us to have warm feelings for our brethren, uncomplicated by all the mundane concerns of the outside world. Who doesn’t enjoy the wonderful feeling when we look another brother in the eye with warmth and innocence? - let’s make full use of these warm feelings, - they may be somewhat superficial, or at least, untested, but it’s the beginning of the whole process! So rather than changing what we do, let’s raise our standards and at the same time, see how it leads to everything else that the Craft puts before us, - ultimately, the way to understanding the human situation that mankind has always searched for. We should not be concerned that this is something that our popular culture tells us is impossible! – many people have used the process to penetrate the Veil, sometimes consciously, more often unconsciously, tuning in to higher levels of awareness with the harmonious energy of Brotherly Love and Relief. As Freemasons we should be fully aware that it is a big myth that mankind is unable to find out the secrets of life.

Brethren, there is a case here for a little more clarity and seriousness. Actually, a lot more clarity and a lot more seriousness. We readily accept a Grand Lodge Above, we have a Veil and a Search for the Secrets, - how can we possibly have anything to do with this popular myth? And yet we do, - we almost completely ignore the Search, just like the outside world.

Are we going to continue to ignore it? Are we going to continue to go along with a culture that embraces the lowest common denominator in society, or are we going to give our ritual and our Craft the credibility that they deserve? What our ritual says is in black and white, - how can we possibly call ourselves serious Freemasons if we continue to ignore our MM Degree’s Search, our very raison d’etre?

Is this being somewhat provocative? Yes, of course it is. But don’t we need a little provocation to help shake ourselves up and start being serious about our M.M. Degree? If brethren continue to hear the spiritual nature of our Craft treated more as an academic subject, how can they come to realize that our Craft presents us with a real, live process? We are dealing with a completely natural process that has always worked for mankind since time immemorial, - the individual has always had the choice of applying his energy, his concern, to the welfare of others, or alternatively, putting his energy and concern into his own welfare and interests; on the one hand, the beginning of a great coming together with everything that exists, and on the other hand, simply staying separate to explore the lower energies.

Understanding or scholarship is not a part of this process in which we choose what we tune in to
automatically, minute by minute, day by day, year by year. Shouldn’t we now focus on how this
continuous, ongoing choice in the exercise of our free-will works in practice, and with clarity and a culture of respect, encourage brethren to recognize that our Craft directly addresses the most fundamental aspect of life on Earth and of the larger Scheme of Things of which we are a part.

But is it possible, in practice, to establish clarity and respect in our lodges for the way our Grand
Principles work? - it’s unquestionably a challenge, but I believe that it is. Chula Lodge in Bangkok, named after King Chulalongkorn who brought Siam so successfully into the 20th Century by combining the strengths of the East and West, was consecrated in 2001, specifically to focus on our ability to actually use our three Grand Principles. All our initiates see this focus as completely normal and would not countenance any application for membership if the man, or brother, did not evince a serious interest in the deeper nature of our Craft. Our District Grand Lodge of the Eastern Archipelago (Singapore, Malaysia and Thailand) has also started to pick up on these things with the clear support of our District Grand Master, and recent Communications have seen well-supported seminars focusing on the esoteric nature of our Craft.

It may not be easy to communicate these things to brethren, but that surely cannot be a reason not to try. As W.Bro. Trevor Stewart says in the synopsis for his address today, “…doing nothing is not an option!” How often do we hear the refrain from a new M.M. - “Is this all there is, one, two, three – one, two, three?” We are putting before candidates the actual process by which man is able to uncover the secrets of life, and the response is, “Is this all there is!” The standard response of course, is to encourage the brother to join the Royal Arch, but when will we come to realize, while the Royal Arch focus on the Genuine Secrets is undoubtedly apposite, that the secrets given are symbolic and that every brother has to search for them beyond the Veil, on his own, - that uncovering the secrets is up to the individual, - all that we, as an organisation, can focus on, is the process, the opportunity.

Many people are hungry to know what life is really all about, the secrets of life, and our Craft addresses this opportunity directly, - surely we should be able to encourage brethren finally, to look at our ritual at face value and see that the M.M.’s Search is a real search, - but one that only works with some serious tuning in. With a little clarity, could we not get brethren to start opening their minds to the wealth of understanding that is under our noses? Can we not imagine that many brethren who put so much time and effort into their masonry would welcome the realization that the Craft they already love, actually offers them so very much more?

Mr. Chairman, brethren, in closing may I ask, what is our Vision? In 10 years will we still be seen as an organization that doesn’t really seem to have a purpose, - apart from acting out strange rituals, and a fondness for dining and helping our own, often somewhat surreptitiously? Or will we be properly recognized as an ancient and honorable society of men who have, through the centuries, sustained the knowledge of how men can finally emerge as Intelligent Participants in life? Will we be seen as tired or timeless?

Thank you Mr. Chairman, brethren.

Angels of the Oceans - Towards a More Connected World

By Fu Ceyi

On 8th May 2006 BBC News reported that “St. Andrews University researches studying in Florida discovered bottlenose dolphins used names rather than sound to identify each other.” According to Dr. Vincent Janik of St. Andrews University the research on wild dolphins was conducted over a period of three years. He was delighted with the discovery and believe “…it is a very exciting discovery because it means that these animals have evolved the same abilities as humans.” The study was funded by the Royal Society of London and its findings published in the US journal the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences (PNAS). The research was conducted in Sarasota Bay off Florida's west coast. Dolphins are considered "human friendly" and have been studied extensively in terms of their life cycle, communication abilities, and intelligence.

Wild Bottlenose Dolphin.

In an earlier study conducted by a team from the University of Leicester, they found that swimming with dolphins appears to alleviate mild to moderate depression. Researches tested the effect of regular swimming sessions with dolphins on 15 depressed people found that their symptoms improved more than a similar group of 15 people who swam in the same area but did not interact with the dolphins. The study was published in the British Medical Journal. Though both groups showed improvement in their mental health, the group that interacted with dolphins clearly enjoyed greater improvements. All volunteers who participated in the two week daily swimming sessions trial stopped taking their antidepressant drugs and or psychotherapy sessions at least four weeks before the trial. Dolphin therapy is now being used to help children undergoing rehabilitation for a range of mental conditions.

The researchers believe that the dolphins’ obvious aesthetic value and the mutual emotions raised by the interaction may have brought about the soothing healing effect. Others have speculated that the ultrasound emitted by dolphins may have contributed to the beneficial effect as well. The Leicester team believes that using animals in this way is a useful adjunct in the treatment of depression and other psychiatric illnesses. Researcher Professor Michael Revelev said: “Dolphins are highly intelligent animals who are capable of complex interactions, and regard humans positively” and reminded us that “We need to remember that we are part of the natural world, and interacting with it can have a beneficial effect on us.” [1]

Dolphins are increasingly being used in therapeutic treatments. “Dolphins are highly intelligent animals who are capable of complex interactions, and regard humans positively”

While dolphin research is still in its infancy, the wealth of information that we may learn from these magnificent mammals is incredible as well as meaningful. Dolphins are social animals, living in groups called pods and providing loving care for their babies and young ones. My son refers to them as “angels of the oceans.” In ancient Greek and old sea stories there are dozens of claims of dolphins helping drowning sailors, rescuing people from sharks, and making themselves useful as guides through treacherous waters. Dolphins have been observed helping injured members of their family groups and newborn babies to the surface by swimming under them and nudging them upward for air, just as some reports described them helping humans in difficulties in like manner.

In our times reports of Dolphins helping and saving humans in distress are common enough. In 2004 it was reported that a group of swimmers off the northern coast of New Zealand threatened by a great white shark was saved by a pod of dolphins. The dolphins had herded them together, circling them until the great white swam away. Such more or less similar cases were also reported in the Red Sea and the Gulf of Akaba a few years ago. Interestingly, there are some reports of dolphins helping other cetaceans. In 1983 at Tokerau Beach, North-land, New Zealand, a pod of pilot whales ran aground during ebb-tide. The New Zealanders who lived there came out and did their best to keep the whales alive by sponging their skin and calming them until the tide came back in. The whales however due to their extended stress of being beached on the shore over a long period of time were disoriented. A pod of dolphins that were nearby sensed what was happening and putting themselves at risk swam into the shallows and herded the pilot whales out to sea, thus saving 76 of the 80 whales.

Are these indicators or confirmation that dolphins like humans are capable of altruistic behavior? My own observation of dolphins even in captivity is that they are consistently chatty, friendly, happy and spontaneous. They appear to be living in the here and now and easily arouse in us the joy and wonder of just being alive in contrast to the many different emotional moods humans have acquired; most humans are subjected to mood swings according to their worries for the future and inability to let go of past anger and grudges. Though Dolphins are “human friendly”, some humans consider them delicacies and dolphin bellies are served as a “special sushi” dish in “exquisite” Japanese restaurants.

The greatest threat to Dolphins and other species on land and in water are humans. Are Dolphins trying to convey some messages to humankind? Some of the lessons that we can deduce from their behavior are - how to live amongst ourselves in peace and harmony, social responsibilities and the preservation of our environment. Both human adults and children have always been fascinated with Dolphin stories. They communicate happiness easily without effort. In today's world, unbridled global capitalism threatens to destroy our global ecology and the possibility that we may self destruct with nuclear weapons is very real. Bobbie Sandoz, author of Listening to Wild Dolphins believe that they are capable of telepathic communication and that they embody the characteristics of the higher self – “kindness, joy, harmony, wisdom, clarity and mystery.”

As with everything else, there are arguments against pure altruism. Edward O. Wilson, founding father of sociobiology (the study of the biological basis of social behavior of humans and other animals) denied the possibility of pure altruism and when confronted with the example of Mother Teresa’s lifelong dedication to the sick and dying street people of Calcutta retorted that as she was a Christian, it was reasonable to assume that she was motivated by her religious belief and had acted accordingly believing that she would receive her reward in heaven.[2] Socio-biologist, Pierre van den Berghe after citing many examples concluded: “We are programmed to care only about ourselves and our relatives”.[3] American professor Garrett Hardin with a background in biological sciences even went to the extent of suggesting that social institutions and public policies should be base on “an unwavering adherence to the Cardinal Rule: Never ask a person to act against his own self-interest”.[4] This position appears to be an extreme one opposite to the other extreme of Jesus’ “Love your enemies” teaching which would appear impractical and unrealistic.

It is apparent there is no pure altruism just as there is no pure selfishness, every thing is relative, the eternal struggle between individual self-centered interest and the collective interest will always exist to a lesser or greater degree, it exists within the individual, the family and on a larger extent in societies in general. A thing or an idea is never absolute per se; it exists and could only be understood and explained in relation to other things and ideas. Confucius taught that family units are the foundation of societies. If family units break down, society’s breakdown would inevitably follows. It is unrealistic to demand that individuals and families totally ignore their interests; the important thing is to balance individuals and families interests with that of society at large. Individuals and families can and should realize that the best way to protect their interests is by equally respecting and protecting the rights and interest of other individuals and families. Only by adhering to this simple rule can we establish a stable society and enable individuals and families to pursue their happiness within mutually acceptable rules established amongst ourselves by consensus.

Legendary founders of Rome, Romulus and Remus.

Besides dolphins, altruistic behaviors are also common amongst other social animals in varying degrees in accordance with their intelligence and evolutionary experiences. Wolves and wild dogs would bring back meat to members of their pack who were not in on the kill. Legend has it that the founders of Rome, Romulus and Remus were brought up by a she wolf. Chimpanzees likewise share their food with each other; when a group of chimpanzees discovers good trees with ripe fruits, they make loud booming noises that could attract other chimpanzees as far as a kilometer away. In dangerous situations, social animals warn each other of the danger as when hawks fly overhead, blackbirds and thrushes give warning calls, helping other members of the flock to escape at some risk of exposing themselves as targets to the predators. Among social animals, it is easy to find examples of animal behavior demonstrating that co-operation brings greater benefits and increase their collective survival chances than self centered selfish behavior.

White Artic Wolf

Animals do fight with each other and often over territorial claims and as leaders of their packs, however, when they do fight with each other, they often appear to obey some unwritten rules much like the ethical rules of combat adopted by noble medieval knights. As an example, when one wolf gets the better of another, the beaten wolf would make a submissive gesture like exposing the soft underside of its neck to the fangs of the victor and that would be sufficient for the victorious wolf to trot off, being satisfied with a symbolic victory.[5] There was no need to rip out the jugular veins of his or her foe. In contrast some humans have inflicted the most horrendous torture with malicious anger and hatred on their own kind and have no qualms at all at the same time claiming the most pious reasons for doing so, often in the name of duty to their so call god or country. Some will even take the heads of their “enemies” and parade them around as a mark of their “glorious” victory.

Another example of distorted or rather unusual deviation of human behavior is the massive enslavement of African Negroes by Christians between the sixteenth and nineteenth centuries; a total of nearly fifteen million Negroes were captured in Africa and sold as slaves and shipped to the Americas. There was nothing new about slavery, it is as old as the bible but the scale of the slave trade and the fact that it was carried out by Christians professing the doctrine of love and salvation for humankind makes it bizarre – as we are all supposed to be created by the same almighty god and to enjoy his sunshine and rain equally. To be able to do such a thing requires a special kind of irrational aberration in attitude cruelly cultivated by more than 1000 years since childhood of the “superiority” of the Christian in group culture which enables them to treat members of other out groups with extreme cruelty. In-groups and out-groups conflicts amongst Homo sapiens have existed since the beginning of human history but they have never been involved on such a large scale and over such an extended period of time as that created by the Christian in-group and its sub in groups.

For Negroes to be enslaved on such a massive scale by Christians, it could only be done because the then mainstream American Christians assisted by the approval of slavery in the bible, deemed them virtually as a new form of domestic animal. An American priest in the mid nineteenth century put it across very clearly:

The Negro is a striking variety, and at present permanent, as the numerous varieties of domestic animals. The Negro will remain what he is, unless his form is altered by intermixture, the simple idea of which is revolting; his intelligence is greatly inferior to that of the Caucasians, and he is consequently, from all we know of him, incapable of governing himself. He has been placed under our protection. The vindication of slavery is contained in the scriptures … It determines the duties of masters and slaves … we can effectively defend our institutions from the word of God.

With these words early Christian reformers were easily tamed. Would Christians then subjected to almost 2000 years of indoctrination since childhood dare go against the words of god as written in the bible? This is just one example of how often irrational Christians would unashamedly borrow the “authority” of god to enslave and mistreat others for their own earthly material comfort, practically living of the labor of their slaves and their off springs for generations.

Abraham Lincoln 16th President of the United States. Born: 12th February 1809 Died: 15th April 1865

Thanks to President Abraham Lincoln, the Negroes were officially set free on 1st January 1863 with the Emancipation Proclamation. In the evening of Friday 14th 1865, while watching “Our American Cousin” Lincoln was shot in the back of his head at near point-blank range for standing up to his humanistic principle. Old habits die hard and discrimination against American Negroes continues in one form or another even until today. Iron chains were replaced with psychological ones, segregations, discriminations, and social degradations were heaped upon them until in their extreme frustration they started to revolt more vigorously in the mid 20th century and became a force to be reckoned with. Negro extremism developed and was not only talking about simple equality but black domination and a second Civil War appeared imminent. It was then that Martin Luther Jr. appeared on the scene as a moderating force which brought about the easing of tension with his now famous quote: “Unless we learn to live together as brothers or we will die together as fools.” It was only in the 1960s, 100 years after Negroes were officially set free that they were permitted to dine in public places without the stigma of being looked upon as members of an inferior sub species.

In ancient in-group and out-group conflicts, their co-operative urges usually prevailed and some form of mutually beneficial arrangements would be implemented. In the absence of a “super powerful in-group” which claims to possess exclusive eternal absolute truth, power and superiority, such solutions were the norm as it would quickly become obvious that it is senseless to continue to kill each other. Confucius 2500 years ago observed that “Men’s natures are alike; it is their acquired habits that carry them far apart.” Beneath the surface, humans are basically the same, we all have a natural sympathy towards each other; if you strip away all our religious and different ideologies, we are all faced with the same needs, problems and we more or less need the same solutions.

Confucius: "Men's natures are alike; it is their acquired habits that carry them apart."

Habits being mere cultural traditions can be changed – we have changed, we can and should continue to evolve to a higher level of co-operative efforts integrating our common needs for mutual survival and the survival of our species and other species on earth. We need an inclusive system of morality based on mutual respect and acceptance regardless of our cultural, religious or racial backgrounds. Our species has a wide range of common basic behavior patterns; the fundamental similarities between any one man and any other man are enormous. The sooner this is appreciated, the more tolerant we will become in our inter group transactions.

We do not wear our skin color by choice as badges just to show that we belong to a special “superior” or “hostile” in-group or to denote our mental differences. In my circle of friends and business associates both within and outside the Masonic fraternity, I have found often enough that I share more mental similarities with some Caucasian and Indian friends than some of my own Chinese friends in Singapore, Taiwan as well as China. I am sure such similar experiences are shared by members of other races. Until the various human sub species stop treating other human sub species with hostility, prejudice and suspicion, there will always be pointless and wasteful bloodshed. If Yawehism in its aggressive warlike form prevails, humankind will always be in perpetual wars.

I am not suggesting that there can be a world-wide brotherhood of man, at this point in time it is still a naïve utopian dream and I have been dreaming this dream since I completed high school. However, because of the imminent danger to our species and other living things on earth, hopefully, many more humans, especially national and world religious and political leaders would realize the danger and take urgent steps to prevent the further erosion of our ecology and stop the senseless wars and put in place checks and balances to prevent the use of weapons of mass destruction.

There will always be competition within the human sub species and amongst the various sub species or rather as Samuel Huntington referred to as the nine civilization blocks. No one single civilization block can ever dominate all the other civilization blocks. In well organized societies these struggles will take the form of healthy, stimulating and fair competition and the vigorous rituals of commercial trading and sports to satisfy the human need for continuous creativity and improvements and to prevent stagnation and retrogression. There will always be worthwhile challenges for humankind; the infinity and mystery of the universe is wide open before us.

We can learn from dolphins and other social animals and we have, however, it is useful to bear in mind that our problems are much more complex. Unlike dolphins, many humans live in over-crowded environments because of over-population; many other species have paid the price with their extinction because of the destruction of their natural habitats. Millions of species have extinct at our hands and many more are on their way to extinction. Humans are capable of eating almost everything or most things that grow on trees, in the ground, fly, swim, walk or crawl including snakes and ants. It would be bizarre and useless to prepare a menu of what humans have eaten. Until and unless we prevent this rapidly extinction process or reverse it, we would sooner or later run out of food and other vital natural resources.

Over population is the direct and indirect cause of the erosion of our environment and also many territorial conflicts and wars over control of the diminishing resources available on earth. Living in over crowded environments also created many psychotic human conditions resulting in aberration in human conduct. Over population and human technologies have created super structures and high density high rise apartments in mega cities world wide which we sometimes refer to as concrete jungles populated by only one human species; other animal species that live in such cities are either pets or living as captives in Zoos. Biologists tell us that wild animals in their natural environment do not habitually slaughter their own kind; however when kept in over crowded cages, they manifest a more excessive violent behavior and massacre their own kind. Chimpanzees and other primates kept in Zoos also acquire the human habit of masturbation to relieve themselves of their boredom.

We are adding about 150,000 to our population every day. Population control, efficient management and a more equitable sharing of our resources are essential if we are to live in peace together. Despite this very obvious and urgent problem facing humankind, the Roman Catholic Church is incredibly against contraception and legalized abortion and most unfortunately, their influence is the greatest in regions where population growths are the most explosive. Is it not better to prevent life than to cure it? We need to for our collective well being and survival of our species and other interdependent species living on earth determine an optimal population level and find workable ways to maintain it at that level. If something has to die, would it not be better that it be human eggs and sperm rather than thinking, cared for and caring human beings who have become an integral and interdependent part of society?

The human female is capable of producing about four hundred eggs during her lifetime and the adult male literally produces millions of sperm every day. Since our population soars and we started living in mega cities strange new sexual practices emerged that had the effect of reducing group productiveness; neuroses and psychoses proliferated, homosexuality, fetishism and bestiality, contraception, masturbation, oral and anal intercourse provide sexual consummation without the chances of fertilization. Other than the famous sperm stains left on Lewinsky’s dress and Anwar’s mattress; billions of sperms are flushed down basins and toilets every day. Are these increasingly visible practices desperate signs of the need to rein in our population growth?

Population control should be spread evenly around the world instead of only in the more enlightened regions. Uneven population growths would create massive illegal immigration and refugees problems that will lead to further de-stabilizing of existing strained inter-regional relations. The problems facing us are daunting and specialists on this subject are divided into the optimists and pessimists camps. I am by nature and nurture mostly optimistic, perhaps it is because optimists tend to live more happily even when they are wrong, whereas pessimists tend to be unhappy even when they are proven right. We need to think and act differently if we are to make changes to our world; we need to massively think more of quality than in sheer quantity.

Endnotes


[1] BBC News: Dolphins Therapy Fights Depression, Friday, 25 November 2005, 00:18 GMT
[2] E.O Wilson, On Human Nature, Havard University Press, Cambridge Mass., (1978), 165.

[3] P.L. van den Berghe, “Bridging the paradigms: biology and the social science”, in Sociobiology
and Human Nature, M.S. Gregory, A. Silvers and D. Sutch, eds, Jossey-Bass, Inc., Publishers,
San Francisco, 1978, pp. 32-52.

[4] G. Hardin, The Limits of Altruism: An Ecologist’s View of Survival, Indiana University Press,
Bloomington, Ind., (1977).

[5] Konrad Lorenz, King Solomon’s Ring, Methuen, London, 1964, 186-9.

Hindu Philosophy

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Part of a series onHindu philosophy


Schools

Samkhya · Nyaya

Vaisheshika · Yoga

Purva Mimamsa · Vedanta

Schools of Vedanta

Advaita · Vishishtadvaita

Dvaita

Important figures

Kapila · Gotama

Kanada · Patañjali

Jaimini · Vyasa

Adi Shankara · Ramanuja

Madhva

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Hindu philosophy is one of the main divisions of Indian philosophy and constitutes an integral part of Indian culture. The great diversity in thought and practice of Hinduism is nurtured by its liberal universalism.

Darshanas

Hindu philosophy is traditionally seen through the prism of six different systems (called darshanas in Sanskrit). The six major schools of thought are listed below.

Samkhya

Main article: Samkhya

Samkhya is the oldest of the orthodox philosophical systems in Hinduism. Samkhya postulates that the universe consists of two eternal realities: Purusha (souls) and Prakrti (matter or nature). The Purushas are many and conscious but are devoid of all qualities — they are the silent spectators of prakrti. Prakrti is composed of three gunas (dispositions): sattvas, rajas, and tamas (steadiness, activity, and dullness). Because of the intertwined relationship of purusha and prakrti, when the equilibrium of the gunas is disturbed the world order must evolve. Liberation (kaivalya) consists of the realisation that purusha and prakrti are indeed different.

Although this was a dualistic philosophy, there are differences between the Samkhya and Western forms of dualism. In the West the fundamental distinction is between mind and body, whereas in Samkhya it is between the self and matter (the latter incorporates what Westerners would normally refer to as "mind"). Samkhya was originally atheistic but, in confluence with its offshoot Yoga, it developed a theistic variant.

Hinduism preaches that the material world is responsible for all human sorrow. Here two men are being offered both liberation and bondage. One looks up towards the supreme-consciousness and follows the path towards spiritual wisdom. The other follows the path towards material pleasures and, drawn by ropes held by the personifications of lust, greed, and anger, he glides towards hell.

Yoga

Main article: Yoga

Yoga is considered by some to have arisen from the Samkhya philosophy. Its primary text is the Bhagavad Gita, which explores the four primary systems: Karma-Yoga; Buddhi-Yoga; Dhyana-Yoga; and Bhakti-Yoga. In the Bhagavad Gita itself the Yoga is described as being many millions of years old (see Chapter 4.1). It is essentially described as a universal method of union with The Supreme. There has been much debate on the personal/impersonal nature of the Supreme, among various Yoga practitioners.

The sage Patanjali wrote an influential text on Raja Yoga (meditational Yoga) entitled the "Yoga Sutra". The most significant difference from Samkhya is that the Yoga school not only incorporates the concept of Ishvara (a personal God), but it also upholds Ishvara as the ideal upon which to meditate. This is because Ishvara is the only aspect of Purusha that has not become entangled with prakrti. Yoga also utilizes the Brahman/Atman terminology and concepts that are found in the Upanishads, thus breaking from the Samkhya school by adopting concepts of Vedantic monism.

Yoga lays down elaborate prescriptions for gradually gaining physical and mental control over the "personal self". This occurs until one's consciousness has intensified enough to become aware of one's "real Self" (the soul, or Atman) as distinct from one's feelings, thoughts, and actions. Realization of the goal of Yoga is known as moksha, nirvana, and samadhi, all of which hold that the Atman is nothing other than the infinite Brahman.

According to the Bhagavad Gita, by outwardly performing all actions but inwardly renouncing their fruits, the wise being, purified by the fire of transcendental knowledge, attains peace, detachment, forbearance, spiritual vision and bliss.

Nyaya

Main article: Nyaya

The Nyaya school of philosophical speculation is based on texts called the Nyaya Sutras. They were written by Aksapada Gautama, probably in the second century BCE. The most important contribution made by this school is its methodology. This is based on a system of logic that, subsequently, has been adopted by the majority of the other Indian schools, orthodox or not. This is comparable to how Western science and philosophy can be said to be largely based on Aristotelian logic.

However, Nyaya was seen, by its followers, as more than logic in its own right. It was believed that obtaining valid knowledge was the only way to gain release from suffering. They took great pains to identify valid sources of knowledge and to distinguish these from mere false opinions. According to the Nyaya school, there are exactly four sources of knowledge (pramanas): perception, inference, comparison, and testimony. Knowledge obtained through each of these can be valid or invalid. Nyaya scholars (Naiyanikas) identified, in each case, what it took to make knowledge valid and, in the process, came up with a number of explanatory schemes. In this sense, Nyaya is probably the closest Indian equivalent to contemporary Western analytical philosophy. The later Naiyanikas gave logical proofs for the existence of God (see Ishvara) and for his uniqueness, especially during their arguments against the Buddhists who at that time were fundamentally atheistic. An important later development in Nyaya is the system of Navya-Nyāya (New Nyaya).

Vaisheshika

Main article: Vaisheshika

The Vaisheshika system was founded by the sage Kanada and postulates an atomic pluralism. In this school of thought, all objects in the physical universe are reducible to a certain number of atoms, and God is regarded as the fundamental force who causes consciousness in these atoms.
Although the Vaishesika system developed independently from the Nyaya, the two eventually merged because of their closely-related metaphysical theories. In its classical form, however, the Vaishesika school differed from the Nyaya in one crucial respect: where Nyaya accepted four sources of valid knowledge, the Vaishesika accepted only two -- perception and inference

Purva Mimamsa
Main article: Mimamsa

The main objective of the Purva ("earlier") Mimamsa school was to establish the authority of the Vedas. Consequently this school's most valuable contribution to Hinduism was its formulation of the rules of Vedic interpretation. Its adherents (Mimamsakas) believe that one must have unquestionable faith in the Vedas and perform the fire-sacrifices or yajñas regularly. They believe in the power of the mantras and yajñas which sustains all the activity of the universe. In keeping with this belief, they place great emphasis on dharma, which consists of the performance of Vedic rituals.

The Mimamsa accepted the logical and philosophical teachings of the other schools, but felt they did not sufficiently emphasize attention to right action. They believed that the other schools of thought, which pursued moksha (release) as their ultimate aim, were not completely free from desire and selfishness. Instead the very striving for liberation stemmed from a selfish desire to be free. According to Mimamsa thought, only by acting in accordance with the prescriptions of the Vedas may one attain salvation, rather than liberation.

Later in history the Mimamsa school shifted its views in this regard and began to teach the doctrines of God and mukti (freedom). Its adherents then advocated the release or escape from the soul from its constraints through jnana (enlightened activity). Although Mimamsa does not receive much scholarly attention, its influence can be felt in the life of the practising Hindu because all Hindu ritual, ceremony, and religious law is influenced by it.

Vedanta

Main article: Vedanta

Also known as the Uttara ("later") Mimamsa school, Vedanta concentrates on the philosophical teachings of the Upanishads rather than on the ritualistic injunctions of the Brahmanas.

While the traditional Vedic karma kanda (ritualistic components of the Vedic religion) continued to be practised as meditative and propitiatory rites, gearing society (through the Brahmins) to self-knowledge, more Jnana (knowledge)-centered understanding began to emerge. These were mystical streams of Vedic religion that focused on meditation, self-discipline and spiritual connectivity, rather than on more practical aspects of religion such as rituals and rites.

The more abstruse Vedanta (meaning literally the end or the goal of the Vedas) is the essence of the Vedas, encapsulated in the Upanishads. Vedantic thought drew on Vedic cosmology, hymns and philosophy. The Brihadaranyaka Upanishad appeared as far back as three and a half thousand years ago. While thirteen or so Upanishads are accepted as principal, over a hundred exist. The most influential Vedantic thought, advaita vedanta, based on the Upanishads, considers the consciousness of the Self - Jivatma - to be continuous with and indistinguishable from the consciousness of the Supreme Spirit or Brahman - Paramatma.

The Upanishads are acknowledged by scholars and philosophers from both East and West, from Rabindranath Tagore, Mahatma Gandhi and Aurobindo Ghosh to Erwin Schrödinger, Henry David Thoreau and Ralph Waldo Emerson, to be beautiful as poetry and superlatively rich in philosophy.

The cryptic way in which the aphorisms of the Vedanta sutras are presented leaves the door wide open for a multitude of interpretations. This led to a proliferation of Vedanta schools in six sub-schools. Each of these interprets the texts in its own way and has produced its own series of sub-commentaries, all claiming to be faithful to the original. Four of them are given here.

Advaita Vedanta

Main article: Advaita Vedanta

Advaita Vedanta is probably the best-known of all Vedanta schools. Advaita literally means "not two"; thus this is what we refer to as a "monistic" (or non-dualistic) system, which emphasises oneness. Its first great consolidator was Adi Shankaracharya (788–820). Continuing the line of thought of some of the Upanishadic teachers, and also that of his own teacher Gaudapada, Shankara expounded the doctrine of Advaita — a non-dualistic reality. By analysing the three states of experience (waking, dreaming and deep sleep) he exposed the relative nature of the world and established the supreme truth of the Advaita: the non-dual reality of Brahman in which atman (the individual soul) and brahman (the ultimate reality expressed in the trimurti) are identified absolutely. Ishvara or God is seen as the manifestation of Brahman to human mind under the influence of an illusionary power called Avidya.

Some of the later teachers who branched away from the Advaitic line of thought accused Adi Sankara of teaching Buddhism while pretending to be a Hindu. However, many more see him as drawing from monist concepts ingrained in texts pre-dating the Buddha, like the more abstruse sections of the Vedas, as well as the older Upanishads, several of which are conservatively and thus reliably dated as far back as 1000 BCE, or even 1500 BCE.

Subsequent Vedantins debated whether the reality of Brahman was saguna (with attributes) or nirguna (without attributes). Belief in the concept of Saguna Brahman gave rise to a proliferation of devotional attitudes and more widespread worship of Vishnu and Shiva. Advaita Vedanta is strictly grounded in the thought that the ultimate truth is Nirguna Brahman. The Vishistadvaita and Dvaita schools believed in an ultimately saguna Brahman.

Vishistadvaita

Main article: Vishishtadvaita

Ramanujacharya (1040–1137) was the foremost proponent of Saguna Brahman, the concept of Brahman or God, the ultimate power, having a definite form, name, and attributes: he saw Sriman Narayana as the supreme Brahman. He taught that Ultimate reality had three aspects: Ishvara (Vishnu), cit (soul), and acit (matter). Vishnu is the only independent reality, while souls and matter are dependent on God for their existence. Because of this qualification of Ultimate reality, Ramanuja's system is known as qualified non-dualism.

Dvaita

Main article: Dvaita

Like Ramanuja, Madhvacharya (1218–1317) identified God with Vishnu, but his view of reality was purely dualistic and is therefore called Dvaita (dualistic).

Acintya Bheda-Abheda Vedanta

Chaitanya (1486–1534), a devotee of Krishna, proposed a synthesis between the monist and dualist philosophies by stating that the soul is equally distinct (bheda) and non-distinct (abheda) from God, whom he identified as Krishna, and that this, although unthinkable (acintya), may be experienced in devotion. A number of modern movements belong in this tradition, including ISKCON, sometimes called the Hare Krishna movement. ISKCON has recently been participating in bringing the academic study of Krishna into western academia in the theological discourse on Krishnology.

See also

Hinduism portal
Important publications in Hindu philosophy
Truth-table representing the Goal of Hindu philosophy
Swami Vivekananda
Sri Aurobindo
Shrii Shrii Anandamurti
Buddhist philosophy, a heterodox philosophy
Jainism, another heterodox philosophy
Carvaka or Lokayata, an ancient philosophy that could be called Hindu except that it does not accept the Vedas
Pramana

Further reading

JOY: The Journal of Yoga scholarly journal dedicated to Indian philosophy, consciousness studies, and yogic spirituality.
Advaita Vedanta All 11 principle upanishads from an advaitic viewpoint

External link

Advaita Vedanta homepage
Dvaita Homepage
Encyclopedic Dictionary of Indian Philosophy
Hindu Dharma
Hinduism: A Perspective
Indian Philosophy (Essay)
Indian Religion and Philosophy
On the Origin and Development of Epistemology in Indian Philosophy by Jayandra Soni
The Six Systems of Hindu Philosophy by Raghavan Iyer
Spiritual Sanskrit Scriptures (Streaming, RealPlayer)

Indian philosophy

Hindu philosophy

Samkhya Nyaya Vaisheshika Yoga Mimamsa Advaita Vedanta Vishishtadvaita Dvaita Carvaka Logic Idealism

Jain philosophy

Anekantavada

Buddhist philosophy

Shunyata

Philosophers

Gotama Patanjali Yajnavalkya Kanada Kapila Jaimini Vyasa Nagarjuna Madhavacharya Kumarajiva Padmasambhava Vasubandhu Adi Shankara Ramanuja Katyayana More...

Texts

Yoga Sutra Nyaya Sutra Vaiseshika Sutra Samkhya Sutra Mimamsa Sutra Brahma Sutra Mūlamadhyamakakārikā More...

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