Dr. Čedomir Vukić, Grand Master of the Regular Grand Lodge of Serbia, was interviewed in March by the Serbian edition of Playboy Magazine. And I'll bet you never knew there was a Serbian edition of Playboy.From the article by Perica Gunjić:
"Most of all it is a great adrenalin rush. You know, the ritual, when you are blindfolded for about an hour and a half and you are faced with yourself the whole time. When you go through that kind of enlightenment it helps you advance both as a human being, an individual and a selfless member of the community. Everyone who goes through initiation feels similar excitement, When you are faced with all the symbols when you realize that everything is in the earth, air and water, the Master of Ceremony, who guides you through initiation, presents a brotherly hand that leads you to your goal."*
"Being initiated into the brotherhood and truly being and living like a freemason are completely different things. Brotherhood is sometimes naïve in its innocence; it opens up to you honestly and completely and sometimes it happens that a man, led by his own ambition and opportunism defames the reputation of the brotherhood. Then it takes time and effort to restore this reputation, leaving a scar that never heals in the heart of every brother. But brotherhood is stronger than evil-thinkers and their actions."*
"Freemasonry has also adjusted and tries to approach people with the intention to explain how it is possible, without any conspiracy, for two people who might not have met otherwise to become friends and perhaps brothers. This interview is one of the ways. Someone could say: “What brings together freemasons and Playboy.” But it is very easy to find the connection, because Playboy used to be a magazine which was publicly crucified by many “well-meaning” people just because it erased borders created by not so well intending people, showing the natural beauty of a woman and breaking taboos, fighting for human freedoms, right to personal beliefs, right to participate in the cultural life, right to education, freedom of expression, which are all written in the declaration of UN and which are ideas that freemasonry fights for."
There really are men who read Playboy for the articles. [Please insert your own punchline here.] In any case, what better venue to reach a virtually all-male audience to tell the true story of Freemasonry? Or am I crazy?
Read the whole article here.
