On the Royal Art
by RADU BĂLĂNESCU
Pro Grand Master, National Grand Lodge of Romania
The Royal Art is the building itself?
A succinct definition from a dictionary informs us that: "Art is, essentially, the most profound expression of human creativity". Then the royal art would be a part of creativity, a part of the things made by man.
Some authors identify Freemasonry with the Royal Art, claiming that it appeared with the birth of the first man and it will last till the end of mankind. By this, said authors suggest that all that was done throughout history in the building of the edifice of civilization was done through bricks added in time, among the members of the Royal Art being Socrates, Plato, Moses, Pythagoras, Jesus, Confucius, Mohamed, etc. up to Newton, Einstein, etc. Nothing can be built, from the pyramids to the Gothic cathedrals, from the Hindu mandala to quantum physics, from the freedom of love in Shakespeare's play and up to the concept of world peace, without the "mason" having the heart and mind enlightened, without seeking the truth with dignity, without his virtues being in harmony with the whole of Creation. The Royal Art adds the bricks to the Temple, the rest is profane use or, worse, destruction.
The Royal Art as a way of building
This connotation clearly emerges from a story by the Greek Aesop. Feeling that his end is near, a man called his sons and told them that in the vineyard he hid a treasure. They, usually lazy, dug up the whole vineyard. They found nothing, but with all the digging that vineyard had a great growth and they made a lot of money.
In The Constitution of Anderson of 1723, the Royal Art is seen differently, not the action itself but the mode of action, the way to lead the building. He says: "A Mason is obliged by his deportment to obey the laws of morality and if he understands correctly the Royal Art, he will never be a stupid atheist, nor a libertine without religion". If the initiate practices the masonic art consciously, he will not be an atheist, nor without religion. Writing this, Anderson respected the spirit of the old constructors who knew to be at the same time men of faith and men of knowledge. Anderson specifies these notions further: "Whatever may have been our different opinions about other things, leaving to all men the freedom of conscience, as masons we are harmoniously in accord in noble science and royal art". The theme of the ritual secret is approached in the Song of the Master: "Who can reveal the royal art? Or sing its secrets in a song?/ They are preserved in one way only/ In the mason`s heart/ And belong to the old Lodge"
The Royal Art viewed as a certain way to follow appears also in Mircea Eliade, who reveals it precisely, in his characteristic style: "a way from captivity to freedom, from dependence to autonomy, from darkness to light, from Profane to Sacred..."
The Royal Art as form of Knowledge
All dictionaries say that "through its mode of manifestation, art may be considered a form of knowledge".
The Royal Art, viewed from this angle and in this context, helps man in the framework of his spiritual realization through the intermediary of an initiatic process that implies the fulfillment of certain precise and immutable rules, the respect of certain gestures, the correct pronunciation, the establishing of favorable moments for the fulfillment of rituals.
Masons call masonry an art, the Royal Art, and if they have to explain the thing, the only respectable way of communicating the message is through the intermediary of another form of art, symbolism.
The Royal Art and Alchemy
Frequent references to the Royal Art appear in alchemists. The alchemical work is seen as a parallel transformation of two things, of matter in the crucible, but also of the psyche of the alchemist. Following the Royal Art, in the unfolding of the process there are indeed two components, somewhat parallel, the distillation of the profane world through the intermediary of the masonic influences, but also the internal crystallization of the brothers in their ascent on the road to the seeking of the light. This way of seeing the alchemical work or Ars Regia as it was named by the Dominican monk Albertus Magnus, is of course far from the classical image of the distillery producing ill smelling gases and the heat of the athanor. The true Royal Art of the alchemists presupposes sacrifice, knowledge, hard work, through which lead or the baggage ofr this existence is transformed into gold, in spirituality, in knowledge.
The Royal Art and Love
Starting from alchemical concepts, a respectable brother mused in a recently published book about the possible connection between the Royal Art and Eros. As alchemy is neither mysticism nor magic, so the love sung by the poets is neither sacred nor profane love. If it is to be merely a connection, than surely it has only to do with the mode of approach, the royal art is practiced only with love, with much love.
An interesting and suggestive approach on the Royal Art comes from the Hungarian philosopher Bela Hamvas through his quotation in a work on the education for peace and tolerance in our world. The current life in the great human agglomerations is diverse and dynamic, manifesting various tendencies, revolts, corruption, passions, etc. An area, a country, a city in which adverse forces dominate can be lead and united only through force. The option that unfortunately has been utilized only too little in the course of history is to replace force with wise leadership. In ancient times, this way of rule was called the royal art, leadership by the promotion of peaceful coexistence, collective effort in the name of peace and harmony.
The Royal Art
Thousands of years ago, men understood that life in groups offers advantages for defense, gathering food, etc. Being a group created the necessity of a leader. At first this was the strongest physically, the strongest member of the tribe. The ones that did not enter the competition with the physically able, with the warriors and with the energy of the robust were isolated to a peripheral life, but they did thus have the chance and time to think, discuss, get and give information and knowledge. These in time formed another group, of story-tellers about heroes and gods, of soothsayers, of witch-doctors that had cures for anything, of magi, etc. they became the repositories of traditions and the knowledge of the tribe. The suppleness of their thinking, the wisdom and knowledge they had became at some point more important to the collective than the brute energy of the strong. That is how spiritual strength emerged, the Sacerdotal Art, which dominated the rule of society, warriors bowing before it and willingly renouncing their lives before priests. The representatives of spiritual power understood in their turn that in order to dominate over others material strength is needed also and then leaders appeared, pharaohs and kings that govern through the transfer of divine origin to them by the priests who intercede with the divinity. Communities thus receive a stable rule, legitimate and regular. Later, in Egypt, Chaldea, Greece, the education of the chosen becomes important. The Sacerdotal Art is taught in schools by those meant to be priests and the royal art by those meant to be kings. Knowledge and mysteries of Light, were revealed to a carefully selected elite.
In the modern age, Masonry leaves aside the stone and mortar and dedicates itself to a moral and intellectual construction. The royal art becomes synonymous with the Grand Art and a queen among the arts through which mankind together must be constructed and each individual must be perfected to occupy his place as it was established in the giant edifice of the GAOTU.
In this period, the meaning inherited from the beginning is restored to the royal art, masonry no longer having to hide that its mission is to prepare its adepts to become kings, true leaders in the modern state where the citizen is king.
The initiate can become his own king when he reigns over himself, when what is beautiful within him will dominate what is inferior. Initiation means knowledge but also the internal transformation to gain the mastery over oneself that confers the royal dignity.
The Royal Art is practiced in each lodge. The kindling of the light on the three columns under the mottoes of Wisdom, Force and Beauty symbolizes the directions of the Royal Art. Wisdom refers both to that internal to its members and also to the necessity of leadership and wisdom in others, Force symbolizes both the internal power of the individual and that which permits the raising of the exterior walls. Beauty must also be within us and in our purposes and means, for and through which, with wisdom but also with the strength of force, we must lead the construction of the GAOTU.
The Royal Art, today, means preparing and raising the intellectual and moral level of our brother through the search for the Light, perfection through Knowledge and Love. The Royal Art means also the formation of those that will lead in the spirit of respect for the laws, historical traditions, love for the truth, equality and peace in the fight against cultural and ideological obscurantism, extremism, the falsification of history, totalitarianism, corruption and abuse.
The Royal Art produces the Leaders, Masters and Grand Masters of tomorrow.
BIBLIOGRAFIE / BIBLIOGRAPHY:
1. Tamas, M.A., "Arta regală și francmasoneria", ed. Aion, Oradea, 2005.
2. Santa, D., "Eros și alchimie", ed. DBH, București, 2006.
3. Blenesi, E., "Peace Education, Learning about the Self and the Other", în "Peace Education în Europe: Visions and Experiences" de Werner Wintersteiner, Vedrana Spajiæ-Vrkač și Rüdiger Teutsch, ed. Waxmann Verlag, 2003, pag. 113.
4. Wirdh, O., "Francmasoneria pe înțelesul adepților săi", ed. RAO, București, 2005.
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