Q: Who can become a member of AUM?
The Lodges of AUM welcome to its Temple doors and admits to its privileges all worthy men and women of all creeds and of every race, whilst insisting that all shall stand upon the recognition of an exact equality of divine origin. A prior background in esoteric study, training and discipline is required and recommended.
Q: Does AUM have any restrictions on age?
An applicant must be at least 21 years of age.
Q: Does AUM charge membership fees or dues?
No. Membership in AUM is sustained through regular Lodge attendance. If one cannot attend Lodge on a regular basis or does not want to attend Lodge on a regular basis, then AUM is not for such persons.
Q: Can I become a member of AUM even if there is no local Lodge?
Yes. In fact we have many members who live in locations where we have no local Lodge (and some at great distance). But regular Lodge attendance is still required in order to retain one’s membership in AUM and to be trained in the work of the Craft. However, we have special allowances for those who live beyond certain circumferences from a Lodge, providing that they fulfill certain minimum requirements and are prepared to travel to attend and participate in the Lodge work at regular intervals throughout each year.
Q: Can I be a member of AUM through a correspondence course?
No. AUM Masonry is not a correspondence course. To be a Mason also requires regular Lodge attendance where one receives training in the ritual work of Masonry and eventually learns to contribute to and participate in that work. It is where one also learns the nature of group work on the physical plane and with a spiritual understanding. Masonry still remains the best mode for training in fraternal group work.
Q: How much time does being a member of AUM take up?
This is a question that is frequently asked. And so we turn the question back upon the inquirer: Are you making the best use out of your time anyway?
Essentially, being a Mason in its fullest sense is a state of being. ‘Being a Mason’ does not simply mean going to Lodge meetings as if it were another club or class or extra activity to the daily round. Attending Lodge is an act of group service and by doing so one must seek to be empowered by the nature of the motive for attending Lodge. It is an opportunity for participating in and contributing to beneficent labours on behalf of others and by learning dexterity in invoking and distributing potent energies in group formation, and thus working together with a directed purpose.
If one wants a merely concrete response, yes indeed, we have monthly Lodge meetings at stated times.
But if one really wants to become an ‘operative mason’ in the spiritual sense, then the work and nature of the builders in service to the Plan must be permitted to pervade one’s consciousness so that it becomes a living ethic. Since a deeper understanding of time, among other definitions, is that it is a “succession of states of consciousness,” then one’s understanding of “time” is dependent upon one’s state of consciousness.
Therefore, we cannot answer this question merely from the point of view of the “busy western life-style.” From that point of view it is the wrong question.
The applicant to AUM undertakes to attend regular meetings of the Lodge in which he becomes a member, unless prevented from doing so by cause(s) sufficiently grave. These meetings are convened at least on a monthly basis. However, the true Mason regards it not only as a solemn duty, but also as a privilege to attend his Lodge, and this is based upon the recognition and realization that the work performed therein (even though empowering the culture of the inner life of its members as an incidental factor), has a far more important function of providing a center for the invocation and distribution of the spiritual benefits of Masonry to the world at large. Through regular attendance at Lodge meetings the new member gradually learns how he is definitely contributing to this most important aspect of the work.