The Masonic Book Club, Vol. 32

The K. R. Cama Masonic Jubilee Volume is a historically significant anthology of esoteric literature, first published in 1907 by the Fort Printing Press in Bombay. Edited by Jivanji Jamshedji Modi, the book serves as a compilation of insightful papers on various Masonic subjects contributed by different Freemasons. The volume was ultimately created to honor K. R. Cama, a prominent intellectual in the Indian Masonic community and Modi’s personal mentor. In recognition of its enduring value to fraternal history, the text was later preserved and republished as a numbered, limited edition of 1600 copies by the Masonic Book Club, serving as their thirty-second volume.The book’s editor, Sir Ervad Jivanji Jamshedji Modi (1854-1933), was a highly decorated Zoroastrian Parsi-Indian priest, scholar, and community leader based in Bombay. Modi was an intellectual powerhouse who produced over 70 books and 120 scholarly papers primarily focused on ancient Zoroastrian history, religious ceremonies, and regional customs. Alongside his deep devotion to his own faith, he was a dedicated Freemason who passionately explored the intersections of Eastern philosophy and Masonic traditions, eventually publishing his own extensive collection of Masonic Papers in the years following the Jubilee Volume.Through his curation of this work, Modi helped cement a unique cross-cultural dialogue within Freemasonry, highlighting how universal fraternal principles resonated within the diverse, vibrant intellectual landscape of early 20th-century India.