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MW Bro. Justice Devinder gupta, MW the grand master of the grand lodge of the mark master masons of India, RW The regional grand mark masters of the Regional grand mark lodges of Western, northern and eastern India, our dear brother from English constitution, RW bro. Balaji singh, RW the district grand master of the district grand mark lodge of Madras, R.W. Brethren, VW Brehtren W.Brethren and my brethren,
We have come to the last part of the Half yearly meetings and I once again express my sincere gratitude to MW Bro. Justice Devinder Gupta for having spared his valuable time to be here among us , despite his pressing Masonic, professional and domestic commitments. I have no words MW the grand master, to express our gratitude for your gracious presence.
I once again thank the Regional grand masters of the regional grand mark lodges of western, northern and eastern regions for being with us at this function with their gracious and affectionate presence. My particular thanks are also due to RW Bro. Balaji singh, RW the district grand mark master for taking time to be here and give his presence.
The Freemason is taught in the course of the First Degree that the Mallet is an important instrument of labour without which no work of manual skill can be completed, and he learns at a later stage that it is the emblem by which a Master is invested with authority to rule his Lodge. It is thus at once the first tool to be put into the untrained hands of the apprentice, and a symbol of the highest office to which the apprentice may aspire when he has become a Master Mason.
Considerable confusion exists as to the Mallet, the Gavel, and the Setting Maul. As a matter of general usage the word "Mallet" is used to denote all three, but sticklers for Masonic propriety give each its proper place. They maintain that the tool of the First Degree is "the common gavel"; that the Setting-Maul is an emblem of death by violence and is peculiar to the Third Degree; while the Mallet, which is a miniature of the Setting-Maul is one of the working tools of a Mark Master. This arrangement is the one favoured," but sometimes they come perilously near to contradicting themselves, and if all they say is subjected to strict examination, flaws in their arguments become apparent.
You will observe that, at the very outset, the Mallet is used to emphasise the importance, if not the dignity, of manual labour
Moralising upon the Mallet he will learn to curb ambition, repress envy and moderate anger. The Mallet teaches us to repress Envy.
Finally, the Mallet is the emblem of authority. As is the sceptre to the King so is the Mallet to the Master. On that night which should be the proudest night in his Masonic life when a brother is placed in the chair of his Lodge he receives the Mallet from the Installing Master as the last and highest touch of ceremonial. "I place in your hands the Mallet," says the installing officer. "It is the emblem of authority which you will use upon all necessary occasions. Its possession carries much power, with proportionate responsibility
Brethren let me conclude with these few words and thank you all for participating in these festivities for the last two days, traveling long distances from the length and breadth of our Region.
I once again thank each and every member of the organizing committee under the stewardship of W.Bro. N.Vijay Kumar , the chairman ot the organizing committee ably supported by the two dynamic secretaries w.Bro. TS Swaminathan and W.Bro. BK Nambiar and all the Brethren of Lodge Tirupur.
Thank You.
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