The meeting places and halls used by Freemasons are readily identifiable. Freemasons are encouraged to speak openly about their membership, while remembering that they undertake not to use it for their own or anyone else's advancement. The rituals and ceremonies used by Freemasons to pass on the principles of Freemasonry to new members were first revealed publicly in 1723. They include the traditional forms of recognition used by Freemasons essentially to prove their identity and qualifications when entering a Masonic meeting. These include handshakes which have been much written about and can scarcely be regarded as truly secret today; for medieval Freemasons, they were the equivalent of a 'pin number' restricting access only to qualified members.

Many thousands of books have been written on the subject of Freemasonry and are readily available to the general public. Freemasonry offers spokesmen and briefings for the media and provides talks to interested groups on request. Freemasons are proud of their heritage and happy to share it. Freemasonry and religion Some people confuse Masonry with a religion, but it is not. Although every meeting is opened and closed with prayer, Freemasonry is not a religion, nor is it a substitute for religion. An essential qualification for a person who wants to become a Mason is that he must have a belief in God. No atheist can ever become a Mason.

A Mason is taught, as one of the first lessons of Masonry that one should pray for divine counsel and guidance before starting an important undertaking. But that does not make Masonry a "religion." Men of many different faiths are members of the Craft and while each one is encouraged to continue to follow his own religion, discussions of a religious nature are not at all encouraged in a Lodge. However, it emphasises secularism by teaching respect for and tolerance towards all religions. In every Lodge meeting Volume of Sacred Law is kept open on the altar or table. In the Lodges under the jurisdiction of the Grand Lodge of India Volumes of Sacred Laws of five major religions in India viz. Bhagwat Gita, Holy Quran, The Bible, The Holy Granth Sahib and The Zend Avestha are opened an altar or table if a lodge is meeting, Sometimes people confuse Masonry with a religion because we call Masonic buildings as "temples." But we use the word in the same sense that the Court is called a "Temple of Justice". Masons believe in the importance of religion. Masonry encourages every Mason to be active in the religion and church of his own choice. Masonry teaches that without religion a man is alone and lost, and that without religion, he can never reach his full potential. But Freemasonry does not tell a person which religion he should practice or how he should practice it. That is between the individual and God. That is the function of his house of worship, not his fraternity.

Masonic Charity Freemasonry encourages its members to be community minded. From its earliest days, Freemasonry has been involved in charitable activities, and since its inception it has provided support for many widows and orphans of Freemasons as well as for others within the community. All monies raised for charity are drawn from amongst Freemasons, their families and friends, while grants and donations are made to Masonic and non-Masonic charities alike. Widows and others in distressed circumstances are assisted by the provision of financial grants. In India too the Masonic Fraternity is involved in several charitable projects, all over the country. The General Williams Masonic Polyclinic at Janpath, New Delhi, Masonic Public School in Vasant Kunj, New Delhi, Amrit Masonic Charitable Society, Noida, Masonic Medical care centre for children in Coimbatore, as also the adoption of an entire village located in backward area in Bheemlipatnam in Visakhapatnam Distt and another village in Srikakulam District, for all round development in Health, Sanitation, Education & Housing. & Construction of Sheds for cyclone victims in Andhra Pradesh, awarding many Scholarships and Bursaries to deserving students, helping institutions for the handicapped and the aged, holding of periodical Blood donation camps, Eye camps and other Health Camps etc., are examples of some of the socially relevant activities of Masonic organisations all over the country.What does Masonry teach?Masonry teaches some important principles.

There's nothing very surprising in the list. Masonry teaches that:
Since God is the Creator, all men and women are the children of God. Because of that, all men and women are brothers and sisters, entitled to dignity, respect for their opinions, and consideration of their feelings. Each person must take responsibility for his/her own life and actions. Neither wealth, nor poverty, education, nor ignorance, health, nor sickness excuses any person from doing the best he or she can do or being the best person possible under the circumstances.
No one has the right to tell another person what he or she must think or believe. Each man and woman has an absolute right to intellectual, spiritual, economic, and political freedom. This is a right given by God, not by man. All tyranny, in every form, is illegitimate.

Each person must learn and practice self-control. Each person must make sure his spiritual nature triumphs over his animal nature. Another way to say the same thing is that even when we are tempted to anger, we must not be violent. Even when we are tempted to selfishness, we must be charitable. Even when we want to "write someone off," we must remember that he or she is a human and entitled to our respect. Even when we want to give up, we must go on. Even when we are hated, we must return love, or, at a minimum, we must not hate back. It isn't easy! Faith must be in the centre of our lives. We find that faith in our houses of worship, not in Freemasonry, but Masonry constantly teaches that a person's faith, whatever it may be, is central to a good life.

Each person has a responsibly to be a good citizen, obeying the law. That doesn't mean we can't try to change things, but change must take place in legal ways. It is important to work to make this world better for all who live in it. Masonry teaches the importance of doing good, not because it assures a person's entrance into heaven -- that's a question for a religion, not a fraternity -- but because we have a duty to all other men and women to make their lives as fulfilling as they can be. Honor and integrity are essential to life. Life without honour and integrity is without meaning. Qualification for membership To be eligible to become a Freemason the absolute qualification are that a man must be over the age of 21 years; be of good character; be law abiding and profess belief in a Supreme Being. No atheist can become a Mason.

Anyone who is of good moral character and believes in the existence of Almighty God and a belief in the Supreme Being, no matter by what name He is called, or what faith the person professes, is eligible. The process of becoming a Mason is not complicated. It involves three evenings to undergo three degrees, or three stages of membership called Entered Apprentice, Fellowcraft, and Master Mason. These are learning experiences. There is some homework that goes with each degree that is worked out with another member of the Lodge. The degrees of Masonry teach progressive lessons in morals, ethics, and philosophy the importance of honour and integrity, of being a person on whom others can rely, of being both trusting and trustworthy, of realizing that you have a spiritual nature as well as a physical or animal nature, of the importance of self-control, of knowing how to love and be loved, of knowing how to keep confidential what others tell you so that they can "open up" without fear. To understand these lessons and use them in our daily life requires that we invest some individual time and thought. But that's what makes being a Mason so special. But, after a man becomes a Mason, the time he gives to the fraternity is entirely up to him.

There is no requirement that a man participate in the meetings and projects of his Lodge. Each man determines for himself the time he wants to give to the fraternity. MembershipThere is a rule in Masonry that a person must seek admission himself. Some men are surprised that no one has ever asked them to become a Mason. They may even feel that the Masons in their town don't think they are "good enough" to join. But it doesn't work that way. For hundreds of years, Masons have been forbidden to ask others to join the fraternity. We can talk to friends about Masonry. We can tell them about what Masonry does. We can tell them why we enjoy it. But we can't ask, much less pressure, anyone to join. There's a good reason for that. It isn't that we're trying to be exclusive. But becoming a Mason is a very serious thing. Joining Masonry is making a permanent life commitment to live in certain ways.

Most of them listed above -- to live with honour and integrity, to be willing to share with and care about others, to trust each other, and to place ultimate trust in God. No one should be "talked into" making such a decision. Men enter of their own volition after a discussion with a Mason about joining. He should come to Masonry "of his own free will and accord", to learn to improve himself and to enjoy the company of other good people, not because someone keeps pestering him to join or because he think it will help him "get ahead" in business. . A person has to be ready to grow, has to suspect that there is something more to life, and wants to know what that is, before he is really ready to become a Mason.How to join the fraternitySo, when a man decides he wants to be a Mason, he asks a Mason for a petition or application. He fills it out and gives it to the Mason, and that Mason takes it to the local lodge.

The Master of the lodge will appoint a committee to visit with the man and his family, find out a little about him and why he wants to be a Mason, tell him and his family about Masonry, and answer their questions. The committee reports to the lodge, and the lodge votes on the petition. If the vote is affirmative -- and it usually is -- the lodge will contact the man to set the date for the Entered Apprentice Degree. There is some study and a bit of memory work required with which a Lodge Brothers will always help.. After the Third Degree the man will be a full-fledged Master Mason and will have joined the oldest global brotherhood in the world!

For more information a person can call the Grand Lodge/Regional Grand Lodge office and get information. What can Free-masonry offer?On the basis of the foregoing information, it is relatively easy to see what Freemasonry can give to someone, on an individual basis as well as towards humanity in general. In short, it is essentially an educational guide for showing how to live one's life and an apprenticeship for learning what liberty is, whilst taking into account the dimensions of one's personality on emotional planes, passing through "Fraternity"; on intellectual grounds through the exercise of "Tolerance"; and on the spiritual plane through "Traditions", and by reference to the Superior Being. It would allow anyone who prefers taking the difficult way to attain his own improvement to find essential material inside the fraternal alliance where he may share efforts and questions. Freemasonry, therefore, provides a place where constructive discussion is possible through the mutual respect of others' opinions and in the listening of them. What unites Freemasons is faith in one's perfectibility and one's radiating influence on others. Through Mason's works, and through an active and a responsibly guided self conduct, Freemasonry endeavours to shine out towards the exterior world with more Justice, more Tolerance, more Charity and Love.Source : Internet