A Paper for…

Sequoia Council No. 228 (AMD)

… to better serve the Craft through the medium of study and research…

Tulare Masonic Temple, 135 W. Tulare Avenue, Tulare, CA.

IMMORTALITY

By Rudy Olano

2Dec06

“…reading so much about the Craft makes me think so much, gives me new ideas, new questions!...the Craft a place where a good man can debate all this things?”

– a question of a friend

First I want to congratulate you in accomplishment so far, I know you will go a long way, distinguished and successful, just keep that spirit of doing the best you can, not for its intrinsic value but because that is the right thing to do. Romania will be grateful to your future contribution.

I can sense that you are reading Lomas and Knight Hiram books. Although both authors have such lengthy credentials, I have a real hard time of accepting that they found the mummy of Hiram Abif, of their conclusion of Grand Master DeMolay’s image on the Shroud of Turin concocted by Leonardo DaVinci and other things which some people commented as result of “fluffy logic.”

I tend to side with the Templar theory even before I petitioned to York Rite. This idea was borne of personal readings, amateurish research and own deductive reasoning buttressed by my own version of “fluffy logic.” I know this revelation could draw some comments from a law student reader from Serbia. As mentioned before, people will see what their eyes want to see. We will put filters of our own choosing thereby seeing different colors from the same source.

If you remember a year ago when you gave me an advice which I truly cherished, I responded by saying that I am so proud of the fact that we came into full circle. It’s now you giving wisdom to someone who seems like losing his way. I am grateful and pleased that all the time we corresponded were not to idle our time away but resulted of having my padewan to come up with fortitude to offer an advice to the little green guy. Possessing wisdom is not directly related to the age, it is directly proportional to the number of same experience and accepted results. I don’t have to cite an example as you will noticed that fools comes in all ages, genders and statutes however, sages also appears in the same fashion.

Our ancient and honorable Fraternity used many symbols to convey messages. In 1888, Albert Pike wrote in response to Albert Mackey’s Landmarks or Unwritten Law, “It (Freemasonry) is a system of morality, veiled in allegories and illustrated by symbols.” There are many symbols of Freemasonry; most are plainly displayed to public who generally don’t pay attention to its origin. As an example, the States of Utah and Pennsylvania used beehive and keystone respectively for their highway signs. Beehive is Utah’s official State Seal while Pennsylvania is also known as “Keystone State.” Although beehive is a known Masonic symbol to a Master Mason, the keystone is a familiar sight for York Rite Masons while to the public those are the State signs for industry and for key role in holding the Nation’s unity. It is no coincidence that the men who were pivotal to the creation and existence of both States were members of the Craft.

The line of thinking relative to true origin of the Craft and its unpleasant by product is again clouding your thought. Hundreds if not thousand of books had been written and being written by distinguished and undistinguished authors which at the end of the day, all will be classified as speculations. No one in our lifetime will ever answer your question, the lapse of time and physical milieu works against us---mortals who seek the real “truth.” Somebody asked you this questions before, would it really makes a difference if you found out the question you been seeking? Would the exposure of origin of the Craft make you change your decorum during the course of human experience called living? Finally, let us take for granted that after superhuman effort and tremendous time and resources expended for research and analysis that you personally found the answer, my question is that what you will do with it--- keep it for yourself or share it to the world who either don’t care or treat it as trivia? The Craft will go on as long as there are good men willing to learn how to be a better man. How the Order originated will be a subject of folklores, speculations and hypothesis for as long as there are people interested in the subject. If this is your fire breathing dragon then my friend, I bade you good hunting and send my regards to the Don.

There are intriguing ideas in your series of questions. What is time, after life, relationship of time and space, a very fascinating lady from Canada informed me sometime ago of her years of study in quantum physics and asked my thought of the same subjects. Since no one came back from the other side and yours truly is lacking of first hand understanding on the subject, the issue is still open. Immortality is another status coveted by those who want to be remembered. The basic fact is that as mortals, the human experience is terminated at the grave --- it is over. Leaving a legacy whether it’s a physical object such as monument, bridge or a gravestone, maybe books, painting, an ideal or a Nation, as long a those who were left behind remembers -— that is immortality. Good as well as bad deeds could make one an immortal. The choice depends on those cares to be remembered or being immortal.

Is there a place in the Craft where you can talk about the subject you termed as “crazy ideas?” I am sure that you will find Brethren who are interested with the same issues. Let me however remind you that the Craft is composed of multitude of good men with different agenda, from sharing a grill cooking techniques, quail hunting to meaning of life. The Craft per se is not a place to debate your interest but it is an organization where you can expect civility and decorum. Within the confines of the Brotherhood you will eventually find those wear the same lens looking for the same light from the same source.

Once I exchanged conversation with a truly worthy Brother in his driveway up until 2 o’clock in the morning. Despite of my concern of overstaying, he was genuinely glad every time I dropped in and talk with him for hours at the time. It’s been a year since he dropped his working tools but I can still felt the warmth of his hug when my daughter and I said goodbye the day we left California for a cross country drive here in Connecticut. I can still remember his chuckle, his humming of an old western song while driving us to visit other Lodges, and that early morning hours chat in his driveway. You even took time to write a sentence thanking the Worshipful Brother Bryan you never met or heard before --- that my friend, is immortality.

/rmo