WHY IS THE MASTER ALWAYS IN THE EAST?
“And yet you are a man and not a god,
however you believe yourself
Like a god.”
Eze. 28:2
God rules the world by authority and not by force. If it were not so, there would be no freedom or rule of law. One is free to be a believer or an unbeliever. Nothing and no one can force any of us to have faith. No scientific discovery, no logical argument, and no torture of body or mind can force us to believe anything, not even to accept the authority of the Supreme Architect of the Universe. However, once that authority is recognized and embraced, the powerless become powerful reminding us of Jesus’ parable about the mustard seed: a grain of faith is enough to move mountains.
The Master of a lodge of Freemasons represents that authority. During a segment of the ritual in a Masonic degree, the candidate is instructed that the Master is always stationed in the east, while the Senior and Junior Wardens are always stationed in the west and south, respectively. The ritual does not explain why this is so, and most veterans of the Masonic degrees are quick to suggest that it is simply because it has always been this way. While that explanation is true to a degree, it is incomplete and totally ignorant.
Being something, knowing something and being capable of something is what empowers a person with authority, like the Master of a lodge. After all, it is authority that is the true and only power. Compulsion or force is simply a device that can be used to remedy the lack of authority. Where authority exists in its purest form, one can feel and feel the breath of sacred magic filled with the fire of mysticism, the essence of what is divine.
At his installation, a lodge master is presented with a gavel and is told by his installation officer that it is an emblem of his authority which he can exercise on behalf of acts of great good or greater evil. The point symbolized here is that true Masonic authority is exercised by the scepter and not by a weapon. It is reported in Masonic ritual that the First Most Excellent Grand Master of Masonry, Solomon, King of Israel, wielded the scepter over Israel, not another weapon, and thus stands as the foremost example of how it is wielded o Masonic authority must be exercised.
The Kabbalah teaches that all authority has its source in the ineffable name of the deity -YHVH- and that all law derives from that name. The clear implication here, as in all Masonic lodges, is that the human bearer of authority does not supersede divine authority. Rather, he relinquishes his own will and allows himself to behave as a conduit for divine authority. Always stationed in the East, the Master renounces action in favor of obedience, comfort in favor of duty and movement in favor of the permanent sentinel. In other words, the Master is a guardian of his post and essentially guards the scepter.
The scepter is symbolized by the mallet, which is also a symbol of the restraint a Master must exercise if his authority is ever to be effective. The Master who shouts his opposition, shouts to make his point, cunningly politicizes his lodge, or blithely gives orders without logic or reason, has not exercised that restraint. Instead, he has taken steps designed to deprive the brothers of their freedom from the loving guidance of the deity. A Master who is aware that the gavel represents the scepter retains his naturally impulsive nature from stepping in and replacing God as head of the lodge.
The lesson of such a restriction is not new as it applies to the Master, it simply applies equally to the brother in authority as well as the brothers bound to follow. Therefore, he is not the predominant individual when considering Masonic authority: he is the Supreme Architect of the Universe. Candidates are instructed throughout their Masonic journey that the compass is a valuable instrument for teaching that in his dealings with other men, particularly other Masons, he must circumscribe his desires and keep his passions within due limits. That form of restriction redounds to the direct benefit of the brother or individual who comes into direct contact with a Mason. The form of restraint applied to the Master is intended to benefit the entire lodge, the entire body of brothers, and in turn all those outside the lodge with whom each brother has contact.
When he obeys the responsible duty to always remain at his post in the east, the Master means that he has made a place within himself for the divine name, YVHV, which is the source of true authority. He also means that he has not only given up freedom of physical movement, but also intellectual movement. Within each lodge of Freemasonry the resulting void is intended to be filled by the divine, that is, physical and intellectual movement should only occur after prayerful consultation with the Supreme Architect.
By remaining in his position, the Master also means that he has given up any personal mission or effort to promote his own esteem. He has literally become anonymous. His name has given way to the ineffable name of the divine, and thus has become the embodiment of enduring law and order.
A Captain’s obligation to exercise such restraint can best be supplemented by the following mandates:
(1) be humble and you will remain whole;
(2) wear and stay new;
(3) be empty so that you can receive much from God;
(4) don’t chase rewards so you won’t be embarrassed;
(5) avoid approving yourself and getting noticed;
(6) give glory to those around you so that you can excel; Y
(7) do not compete with your brothers, because there is no one who can compete with you – you have authority.