FILED UNDER: The Master's Word - Not Hidden at All!

A Brother Asks: The question arises as to whether the Master's Word was originally communicated in the Third Degree?

Coach: Clearly it wasn't, no matter what the claim.

First off, when you realize what The Master's Word actually is, you realize that It cannot be communicated. All that one can do is point It out and, if there is interest in It, next point the interested party toward the path to understanding It.

That being said, regarding The Master's Word:

1) It was clearly present in all three degrees,
2) It was alluded to in the first degree,
3) How to understand It was pointed out in the second degree,
4) And if you didn't do the Work the first two degrees pointed you toward, you got a participation trophy during your third degree - in the form of a substitute.

Everything that was pointed out to you in the first two degrees was to prepare you to understand The Master's Word so that you could glean our Master's Rules & Designs to agreeably erect your spiritual building.

Any one who says that they can give you The Master's Word is lying. It can't be given! It can only be pointed out. It is up to you to do the Work to "get It."

 For Further Light: https://www.coach.net/TCM.htm

 

 

A Brother Asks: Masonry's Beginnings - It's Not What You Think

 

A Brother Asks: Franklin states that masonry began with Nimrod and the tower of Babel instead of with King Solomon and Hiram Abiff. I have an original copy (this is a screenshot shown). Manly P Hall's book "Freemasonry of the Ancient Egyptians" also backs this theory of an older age.   

What can you tell me about this excerpt from JH Franklin's 1910 book called "The Rebuilding of King Solomon's Temple?"

Coach:  The challenge that all Freemasons (and interested others) face is breaking through the veil of allegory offered by both the fraternity and authors who write about it.   

This author presents his best thoughts as if it is a possible historical account.  It is presented this way but it is not the right focus.  You must get it into your head that what the author offers must be understood symbolically if it is to have any assistance to you as a aspiring Mason!

Let me emphasis this again. When you want to comprehend this passage in Franklin’s book (and MPH’s works as well) and do so within the context of Masonic Development, you MUST stop thinking linearly and historically! It's all symbolic!

Let me break it down for you.

1. Our Masonic Purpose (as stated in our first degree and written out in plain text in our monitors) is to erect a spiritual building and to do so agreeably to God’s rules & designs. This building is not the temple that must be completed that is referred to in the 3rd degree. It is an entirely different construction. The temple in the third degree is merely a necessary precursor to this second building.
   
   
2. To accomplish the spiritual building construction, you MUST understand God's Word (Our Master's Word!) Any and all Babel present within you will prevent this from occurring. Your Masonry begins with you understanding that Babel exists, that it is WITHIN YOU, and this Babel must be removed to accomplish your Masonic Purpose!
   
   
3. Your Work proceeds by committing to a Masonic Mission: Deconstruct your Tower of Babel and Build within you the Order you need to accomplish your Masonic Purpose!

This means...

1. Bringing Order to your Heart, and then
   
   
2. Bringing Order to your Mind.   

To accomplish this you must do the Work espoused by the first two degrees!

Once this Work is completed, you then will recognize TheMaster’s Word and seek to understand it so as to glean God’s rules & designs so that you can use them both to erect your spiritual building.

You cannot to this without dealing with your own personal Tower of Babel!  

Once recognized, your Masonic Work has begun!

 

 

A Brother Asks: Getting that Master's Word

How to Start

A Brother Asks: Coach, if I were to investigate the Master's Word, what questions would you suggest I ask myself to start the ball rolling?

Coach: I suggest you start with the particulars of "The Master's Word".

Brother: The particulars?

Coach: Yes. They're provided to everyone right there within the third degree ritual. 

Brother: They are?

Coach: Yes, hidden in plain sight they are.

Brother: Good.  Then it should give me some very helpful clues.

Coach: Indeed.  Everything has been put there for you to figure it out. 

Brother: It has?

Coach: Yes. But only when you have done the preparatory Work.  When you have you should be able to discern quite nicely both the clues and to what they allude.

Brother: Nice!  So what should I ask first?

Coach: The first thing you should ask yourself is "What exactly were the three Ruffians looking for from the Grand Master?

Brother: Okay.  I see it would be important to understand what they were making effort to obtain in the first place.

Coach: Yes.  So many focus upon what the king says toward the end and not how what he says applies to the details.

Brother: I must be one of them. 

Coach: How so?

Brother: All I glean is that they wanted the secrets.

Coach: Yes.  But what specific secret were they looking for?

Brother: Ah!  Okay.  Got it.  They wanted his Word.


Desire

Coach: Yes.  Once you understand that, you should ask yourself the next obvious question.

Brother: What's that?

Coach: Why did they want it?

Brother: Is that answer found within ritual too?

Coach: It sure is.

Brother: You mean it's clearly stated therein?

Coach: It sure is.  Just ask the Senior Warden.

Brother: Why him?

Coach: Because he tells you those reasons every time he is asked, especially by the Worshipful Master.

Brother: Thanks.  I may have to listen to ritual more closely next time.

Coach: You'd do well to do this.

Brother: Wait... doesn't he let the Worshipful Master know this right in the beginning?

Coach: He sure does. 

Brother: Okay.  I know the answer.


Empowerment

Coach: Good!  So, let's say they get what they want.  What does it allow them to do?

Brother: Okay.  I see where this is going.  It would allow them to do exactly what the Senior Warden says when he answers the Worshipful Master's question.

Coach: Indeed and I shall add to this, if they got what they wanted, they could do all that masterfully.

Brother: I can see a lot of benefits from this.

Coach: Yes.  They would benefit tremendously from doing all those things masterfully.

Brother: Is that what they were indirectly seeking?

Coach: What's that?

Brother: The benefits of having what they sought?

Coach: Yes.  Why have something if you can't benefit from it?

Brother: You mean like being given something and not having it do anything for you, other than being able to say to others that you have it?

Coach: Exactly!  What good does having something if it provides to you no benefit along the lines of what it claims, especially if that is why you tried to get it in the first place?

Brother: Agreed. I've seen that occur more than once.

Coach: Me as well.  Yet I see so many feel like they accomplished something significant by obtaining something that has no influence upon the outside world.

Brother: You mean to say that I'm not alone in this?

Coach: I am.   So many members think that they can be given something and be empowered, yet when they receive something that truly doesn't empower them, they are still smugly satisfied.

Brother: You mean to say the Grand Master could have given them anything and they would have likely been smugly satisfied and let him live?


Substitutes

Coach: Yes.  Any substitute would have sufficed.  How would they ever know any difference?

Brother: Hold on now. Are you implying that's what's occurring anyway?

Coach: I was doing no such thing, but I'm glad that you're seeing the implications.

Brother: So why didn't The Grand Master just do to the ruffians what is done to all candidates?

Coach: You mean, just hand them over a substitute, and not tell them its true nature?

Brother: Yes, just like we already do to candidates.

Coach: Why do you think this is done this way?

Brother: Well, perhaps the ruffians are used within the story to communicate to the candidates their true nature - ruffians!

Coach: Why do you think this might be the case?

Brother: Okay, I'll pull a "coach" and ask you a question back.  Do most candidates finish their temples before they ask for the title of Master Mason?

Coach: I don't think most candidates know what the temple is much less finish it.

Brother: I think you're spot on with that assessment.


Requirements

Coach: Perhaps.  But we are missing something much more important here.

Brother: What's that?

Coach: Why couldn't the Grand Master just hand over what they claimed they wanted?

Brother: From what I understand, there were several reasons.

Coach: Such as?

Brother: What I had just said... they had not completed their temples.

Coach: And?

Brother: It couldn't be giving without specific presence and agreement.

Coach: So, what you're telling me is that specific requirements were not met, right?

Brother: Yes.  I am saying just that.

Coach: And in the minds and hearts of the Ruffians, none of these mattered, right?

Brother: Yes.  They couldn't care less that the requirements were not met.  They wanted what they wanted when they wanted it.

Coach: Does it sound like they were using their minds and hearts maturely in there pursuit or that their minds and hearts were using them immaturely in their pursuit?

Brother: I'm erring toward the latter.  They would not have acted the way they did if it were the former. 

Coach: Why?

Brother: Their passions weren't circumscribed and subdued.  They were irrational and uncivil in their demands.  These are two blatant indicators that their hearts and their heads were in control of them and not the other way around.

Coach: Likewise they are also two indications that their temples were not completed.

Brother: And with their temples incomplete, what was present was in disagreement!

Coach: Yes.  I like the way you tied that together.


What's Missing

Brother: Thanks.  Are you telling me that the ruffians lacked specific qualities to be able to have what they wanted?

Coach: Yes I am.  What the ruffians wanted had itself specific qualities.  It, in return, required them to have specific qualities for them to have it.

Brother: Is that why it was impossible for the Grand Master to hand is over?

Coach: Yes.  No matter how you may try to force something to fit, you're only going to damage it when you don't have the skill and experience to put it into place.

Brother: Like using a setting maul to put a stone into place where it clearly doesn't fit?

Coach: Exactly!  All you do by trying to force it into place is ruin the stone and damage the surroundings.  The end result is rubbish!

Brother: Like they did by trying to force the Grand Master?

Coach: Yes.  Moreover, what they wanted from him had specific qualities that made it impossible to hand it over, to anyone. 

Brother: Are you saying what they wanted was impossible to hand over?

Coach: Yes.  Furthermore, I am also saying that who they were made it impossible for them to have what they wanted.


The Lie

Brother: Wow! All this means is that anyone claiming to be able to give it to you is lying.  It can't be done! It's impossible - even symbolically!

Coach: I like how you added this up and took it one step further.

Brother: So, this raises the next question!

Coach: What's that?

Brother:  What qualities must I possess for me to have it for myself?

Coach: You mean, such that you could benefit from having what they sought and do so without the aid of others?

Brother: You mean, like all by myself?  Wow!  You mean this is a solo situation?

Coach: Yes, all by yourself.  You can't possibly honestly believe that you must travel, work, and earn masterfully with others in tow can you?

Brother: Having others in tow doesn't make any sense at all.

Coach: Exactly!  So, let's expand upon your question.

Brother: Go for it Coach!

Coach:  What qualities must you possess such that you can travel, work and earn masterfully without saying or writing a word, and do so without the aid of others?


Mastery

Brother: I like it!  I'd have to have all the qualities of a Master.  Not just the title!

Coach: Okay, so your saying you'd have to be a man who has completed his temple?

Brother: Yes.  But how does one go about developing those qualities?

Coach: There's only one way Brother.  And it's not by dying either!

Brother: Wait!?  What's that?

Coach: What's what?

Brother: You're saying you can complete the Temple before you die?

Coach: Yes.  Many have done so.  How else do we have master's walking among us?

Brother: Okay.  Yes.  I get it.  So how do you do it?

Coach: Do the Work that establishes, develops and cultivates Experienced Masterful Skills.

Brother: Hold on!  Is that why is it impossible to say or write it?  It can only be expressed through being masterful?

Coach: Let me turn the questions around for you.  What can you possibly say or write that would communicate mastery so well that it would allow you to Travel, Work and Earn Masterfully?

Brother: You can't.  You have to live masterfully and that's an expression of who your are and what you chose to be.  That's the only way it can be communicated to others and for you to benefit both yourself and others.

Coach: Indeed.

Brother: Wait!  That's it!

Coach: What's it?

Brother: The Master's Word!

Coach: Are you sure?

Brother: To be masterful and reap the benefits of Mastery, you have to be true to your Word to BE the Master's Word.  That's why the ruffians couldn't have it.

Coach: Why?

Brother: They were not Masterful!  They hadn't completed their temples!

Coach: Really?

Brother: Yes!  Really!

A Brother Asks... What Was Lost?

NOTE: This has become part of my latest book, "A Brother Asks: Volume 1 - Uncommon Discourse about Hiram", which can be found here: http://www.coach.net/AB1.htm  

------------------------------------------------------

A Brother Asks: What was Lost with the Grand Master’s Death?

My Response:  All that he did to develop and employ his masterful abilities and access to the same through him.

Let me expand upon this further.

The Word is a composite of Beauty, Strength and Wisdom, of which manifest the Masterful Artisan-Teacher (as denoted by the first artificer of sharp instruments of brass and iron, Tubal-Cain, along with his two brothers and sister, as a good example of this; this is straight from biblical text and Stonecraft lore).

Beauty, if we go by what some Rituals imply, is the result-filled application of Cunning (in the original sense of the word) Craftsmanship of which is utterly impossible without Wisdom to Contrive and Resources (the true meaning of "Strength" is “Resource” and why Hiram, King of Tyre was chosen; he had the resources!) with which to Build.

We're not talking about something you utter here. The Word cannot be conveyed in this manner. It is something you are, and you aren't it unless you do the Work to masterfully develop all three aspects to Perfection (a/k/a Maturity; Suitability and not "Flawlessness") and so that all are in agreement with each other (Harmony being one of many aspects of this “agreement”).

That's why, within the Allegory, Grand Master Hiram was unable to give the Ruffians what they demanded. They were lacking all three aspects and their agreement as represented by the three Grand Masters and hence they did not embody what The Word represent – Mastery. They died never knowing that the reason for their not getting The Word was their lack of Skill Development in three distinct domains - they lacked Strength, Wisdom and Beauty and the necessary agreement (harmony, etc…) that must exist and interplay between them to manifest Mastery.

Part of understanding what was Lost is understanding that the story conveying this understanding is an allegory and hence all characters represent something else. This is why so many misunderstand the allegory; they have yet to cultivate to mastery what is required to allegorically understand. It is a story; not a historical account. There is no King Solomon, no Hiram, King of Tyre and no Hiram Abiff.  They are only characters representing other things and they are used to deliver a message. 

The message is clear though, at least to those who understand allegory. When you develop yourself so that you have Wisdom, Beauty & Strength present in what you do and all are in agreement, you are the incarnation of The Word. When you don't do this, you're not.

 

The Ruffians refused to do this. They thought it was something they could "get" from someone else. Because of their focus, they could never "get" The Word because they were seeking something outside themselves rather than seeking those specific things needing to be cultivated within.

It's also a good reason you should always be suspicious of anyone or any system that says that they have the Lost Master's Word and that you can get it from them if you simply go through some ceremony.  The claims simply do not Pass the Acid Test.

So, what I'm saying is Cunning Craftsmanship was lost, and hence The Word as is what occurs any time a Master-filled life ends where a man took the time to develop and cultivate himself masterfully and what he does as a result of that development.

F&S,

Brother John S. Nagy

The Lost Master’s Word Acid Test

Good Day My Fellow Travelers,

Here's an article published in August 2013 that might be of interest to you. 

Fraternally and Sincerely,

Bro. John S. Nagy

Building Better Builders Series Author

 

 

-----------------------------------

The Lost Master’s Word Acid Test[i]

 

“An acid test is any qualitative chemical or metallurgical assay which uses acid; most commonly, and historically, the use of a strong acid to distinguish gold from base metals. Figuratively, acid test is any definitive test for some attribute, e.g. of a person's character, or of the performance of some product.”[ii]

 

-----------------

 
I admit it.  I had no clue that some special “Master’s Word[iii]” existed until after I got hit by the Third Degree.  Prior to that moment, you could have talked circles around me on the subject and I would not have had any idea what you were talking about.  It simply was not on my radar and furthermore, I had no interest in such things.  Or, so I thought.

After my Third Degree “experience”, I was left with an irritating reminder that something vital was missing from my life and that no Substitute for the real thing would suffice.

As you might already know, just like countless others before me, I have our dear Brothers to thank for implanting this nagging memento in both my head and my heart.  I’ve not sought any revenge upon them for their questionable deed, even though their actions have caused me to consume far too much of my time seeking it.

That being said, I can say that vengeance is sometimes taken in unsuspected benevolent ways.  My quest for The Word has lead me to create an Acid Test, much like those used in days of old, to determine if I have the real thing, or some inferior Substitute.   My vengeance perhaps is putting back upon my Brothers’ shoulders this Acid Test so that they can determine whether they have found what was Lost too.

Falling back upon an old tried and true method for learning, I have opted to create this Acid test in an easy to understand Catechism form.  If you earnestly and truly Believe that you have found “The Lost Master’s Word”, a.k.a. “The Word”, try applying this Acid Test for yourself.  Use it to Perpend and come to your own conclusions.  I know I have!

 

-------------------------

 I: Does The Word exist or is it merely a metaphor for an unattainable but approachable ideal that should be strived for?

R: It does in deed exist and It is something that anyone who seeks Mastery should strive for, even when it is believed that such Mastery is unattainable, but only when you want Better.

EFFABLE

 I: Is The Word that you are offered effable?

R: Effable means “that something can be described using words”.  If you say, “Yes”, to this question, then what you have is not The Word.   Without any doubt whatsoever, The Word is indeed ineffable.  Anyone telling you otherwise, should be cautiously backed away from. 

 I: What does Ineffable mean?

R: The word, “ineffable” is an adjective.  Adjectives modify nouns.  In the case of The Word, ineffable is used to describe this specific word.  Ironically, the very description of The Word, denotes that it cannot be described.  It is too great or extreme to be expressed, uttered or described in words.  It is unspeakable, unwritable, inexpressible through words, unutterable and nameless.

I:  Is The Word unspeakable, unwritable or inexpressible because of an agreed upon promise not to do so?

R:  No.  This is a common mistake that many Word seekers come to as a result of misunderstanding It.  Ineffable doesn’t mean you won’t speak or write It because of a choice not to; it means you can’t express, speak or write It using words because it’s impossible to do so.

PRESENCE
 

 I: What must be Present for The Word to Manifest?
R: The most common response to this question is: The Three.

 

 I: What’s another word for “Manifest” when discussing The Word?
R: Another word for “Manifest” when discussing The Word is “found”.

 

 I: Can The Word be revealed without the presence of The Three?
R: It cannot. 

 

 I: Can you name those Three?
R: Yes.  Furthermore, any Masterful Mason can.

 

 I: Are The Three specific people?
R: No.  The Three are definitely not specific people.

 

 I:  What then are The Three?
R:  They are Represented Symbolically as the Three Principle Supports of the Symbolic Blue Lodge.

AGREEMENT
 

 I:  Why must The Three Agree?
R: Because The Word is based upon their Agreement, of which It cannot exist otherwise.

 

 I:  If The Three must be Present and all Three must Agree, how is it that any one person can know what It is and reveal It?
R:  When The Three are present within that person and The Three are in Agreement, The Word exists in everything that person is and does.
 
EMPOWERMENT

 I:  How does The Word Empower someone to Travel, Work, Earn and Contribute Masterfully?

R:  Empowerment occurs when people can take action.  The Word Empowers individuals to take actions which others cannot take.  Furthermore, The Word brings forth superior choices, actions and behavior which in turn produces superior outcomes, results and consequences.  The Word exemplifies Mastery and hence is Masterful.
 

 I:  Does the Empowerment The Word provides to Travel, Work, Earn and Contribute Masterfully have to do with other Brothers, or Masterful Skills?

R:  The Empowerment The Word provides to Travel, Work, Earn and Contribute Masterfully is independent of other Brothers.  It is solely dependent upon Masterful Skills and the ability to employ those skills Masterfully.

DEVELOPED
 

 I:  Can The Word be handed over to other people so that they may use The Word or must The Word be developed within those people for The Word to be Rendered by them?
R:  The Word exists not as any article that can be handed over from one person to another.  It exists solely as specific Masterfully developed skills that temper one’s abilities to see, to say and to do – Masterfully.

 

 I:  When The Word is Revealed, can others Recognize It, even when they are not Brothers?
R:  Yes.  The Word is the Embodiment of Mastery and hence all who recognize Mastery, whether Brother or Profane, recognize The Word.

 

 I:  How do the Orders of Architecture Reveal The Word’s development and ultimate Use?
R:  They show the path to Mastery for those who know how to configure them as a map of Masonic Progression.

REVELATION
 

 I:  What Proscriptions exist against Revealing The Word?
R:  There exists no Proscription against revealing The Word whatsoever. If anything, it is hoped by Masters that more people would develop The Word within themselves so that the world would become a Bettered place.

 

 I:  What must any person Be to Reveal The Word?
R:  The person must Be Truth Incarnate. 

 Points to Perpend:

1)  What actions have you taken to find The Word for yourself?

2)  How successful have you been, so far?

3)  What must you do further?

4)  What must you Be further?

---

[i] Inspired by “The Lost Word” fromBuilding Hiram – Volume 1 and

“The Master’s Word” from Building Janus – Volume 4 by Dr. John S. Nagy

[ii] http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Acid_test_(gold)

[iii] “The MASTER'S WORD * * * is the reward of study and devotion, and has never been obtained on any other terms. It has never been conferred in the ritualistic degrees of the Lodge, and never will or can be. It is the establishment of understanding in the Soul of man between that higher self in him, and the MORE and Beyond Self from which he draws his life, and from which his intuitions spring. This is the Real Initiation: At-One-Ment.” (Mystic Masonry; J. Buck.)