In its 25 young years since inception, Lodge Freedom No 296 has seen membership of eager, enthusiastic Brethren, leadership of illustrious Masters and guidance from ARGMs, RGMs, RGLOWI and the GLI.

 

On 21st Day of December 2019, on the occasion of celebrating 25 years of successful completion of the Lodge, in the presence of R.W.

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The Regional Grand Master of the Regional Grand Lodge of Western India, R. W. Bro M S Federal, and the Leadership of Worshipful Master W. Bro. Shravan Punjabi and with the blessings of Founder Members, the Brethren of this Lodge dedicated this memento to Freemasonry with the hope that it serves as a reminder to all brethren of their obligations to themselves, their families, the Craft and to one another.

 

This memento is a tribute to all the members of the Lodge, past and present, and to all Freemasons, who hold Freemasonry close to their hearts. Each piece was designed in CAD, 3D printed and finished following a carefully planned prototyping process.

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Concept: 

W. Bro. Viren Joshi, W. Bro Rahul Goenka,

W. Bro Nishant Bafna, W. Bro. Shravan Punjabi

Design and Manufacture:

W. Bro. Viren Joshi, W. bro Rahul Goenka,

Bro Paresh Thakkar, Bro. Nishant Joshi 

Dedication:

R. W. Bro. Mufazzal S Federal

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Not every man can be made a Freemason. Freemasonry is about making good men better and if a person is not good, there is no way he can become better. A candidate should be in raw form, but not in crude form. Figuratively, he should be more of a rough ashlar rather than a shapeless stone – a man with upright standing, good morals, and every eligibility to part of civilised society.

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Not just every man of upright morals but the candidate striving to climb the proverbial ladder seeking light from the darkness within must have at least a shadow of the underlying principles of Faith, Hope and Charity.

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These are represented in the Memento by the outer rough ashlar with a ghost image of the principles of Masonry – Faith, Hope and Charity, and the proverbial Ladder leading to the Light.

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The concept of the Memento arose when the brethren met discussing, “What freemasonry means to us” and “What is the meaning of various aspects of Freemasonry".

 

It was decided to create a memento befitting all masons and which would be a reflection of the Masonic spirit of the brethren of the Lodge. Accordingly, we designed and made a Memento answering questions often raised, and representing the owners' commitment to the Craft so that it would remind its owner of his obligations till so long as he lives.

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• Who can be made a Freemason? can every mature man be made a mason?

• How does a person become a Freemason? What does he aspire?

• What are the secrets of Freemasonry and how are they revealed?

• What are the representations of morality of masons

  

In effect, the Freedom Memento is what Freemasonry means to each and every Brethren of the Lodge

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The Rough Candidate, guided by the principles of the craft, uses the working tools of Freemasonry (the apron in the Memento) to knock out his flaws with the tools and make his words and actions more responsible. In the process, he emerges a polished, cultured, fine gentleman who is an ideal to the society he lives in.

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A Mason progresses on his journey to uncover more secrets, removing more of the rough outer layers, cutting, chiselling, honing, polishing into a shine over the years.

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The Mason works under the All Seeing Eye (the incomplete golden pyramid). A reminder that humanity’s thoughts, words and actions are always observed. Few of the tools shown here represent Morality, Equality and Justness and hence worn by officers of the Lodge.

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One may observe on the Memento that other than the tools, the Square and Compass at the top, all other Masonic symbols in the Memento are partial and not fully revealed – this is because it is not so easy for a person to complete his Masonic journey and unravel the secrets so easily – it is a continuous process of learning, aspiring to move to the Light and uncovering more of secrets within oneself as one progresses in life.

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