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commendably, he will legitimately aspire for more. With many Brethren so enthused, there will be a feeling of healthy competition among them to do one better than the other. There is enough work in the Lodge to be apportioned by turns to all those interested.
This approach will automatically create a sense of personal involvement and ensure regular attendance on the part of the Brethren which will become a habit in due course. And the Lodge will have a wealth of trained talent to support it at all times. We must not lose sight of the fact that the traditions and responsibilities of the Lodge must be transmitted from generation to generation, and this is possible only by training every interested member to shoulder responsibilities according to his merit and abilities.
4. It follows that lack of opportunities for personal involvement right from the beginning will result in a feeling of neglect and unwantedness. None would like to spend two or three hours in the Lodge as a side bencher and subscribing spectator! He feels his time is wasted. He is not going to be missed in any case and can afford to be absent. Absenteeism becomes a habit. Such Masons, not having had the opportunity to learn, participate in and put across the ritualistic parts of Masonic teachings to others, cannot have anything impressive to tell others about the Order.
Very often, unintentionally though, seniors tend to group together, leaving the juniors to ‘feel’ comparatively inferior. I have come across meetings of Permanent Committees of Lodges where the non-members of the Committee present, have been asked to keep out for the duration of the meeting, forgetting that the nomination to the P.C. is derived from the vote of the non-members! Where the deliberations of the P.Cs are routine matters, the non-member can be invited to join, so that he knows what the
responsibilities of this unit of administration are.
It will be good practice for seniors to seek out and speak to the juniors both in and outside the Lodge and exchange notes as to the latter’s progress in the art. An uninhibited and readily accessible senior is loved and respected more. The younger Brethren will invariably look up to him for guidance and advice. The self-consciously pompous senior who is conscious of his Rank and position in the hierarchy, though outwardly honoured is neither respected nor loved as an individual.
5. Masonry is not confined to the four walls of the Temple. it is universal. Its tenets, principles and teachings are to be practiced in and outside the Lodge. Brotherly Love, Relief, and Truth, Fortitude, Temperance, Prudence' and Justice, Benevolence and Charity, meeting on the Level, acting on the Plumb, and parting on the Square are not mere slogans, These qualities are to be reflected in every Mason's daily conduct.
Most often we fail to reflect these in our conduct both in and outside the Lodge i.e. both in matters of the Lodge and outside, though we may find plausible justifications for our deviations. When we cannot or do not follow in our actions what we preach in the Lodge, the others are disappointed, disillusioned and frustrated and some decide to keep themselves out altogether.
From the above analysis, it will be evident that the apathetic mason is mostly a creation of circumstances. The factors contributory to Creating apathy in him must be eliminated, provided the material introduced to Masonry is verified to be suitable at the outset by a discreet enquiry into his background, The performance and progress of a Lodge is in direct proportion to the quality of its membership and not its quantitative strength.
Madras Masonic Journal Vol. 01 / 2023 - Centenary Year Edition
A Publication of Madras Masters Lodge No. 103, GLI
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