Has Indian philosophy played any role in Freemasonry?

Albert C. Mackey holds that nothing in Indian philosophy coincides with the philosophy of Freemasonry at any point, maintaining that no historical origin or branch of the Craft traces its roots to India 1. From this perspective, any superficial resemblances between Eastern traditions or indigenous ceremonies and Masonic rites are considered purely coincidental rather than evidence of shared origins or influence 1.

In the Scottish Rite, however, Albert Pike draws extensively upon Indian philosophy and sacred texts to illustrate the Rite's moral and philosophical teachings 2. Pike presents Buddha as the earliest historical figure acting as a Masonic legislator, describing his establishment of a fraternity dedicated to one uncreated God and open to all men regardless of caste 2.

Pike further incorporates passages from the Vedas, the Upanishads, and the Vedanta and Nyaya philosophical schools into his exposition of Scottish Rite degree concepts 2. He uses these traditions to discuss pantheistic monotheism, the immortality of the soul, and the divine origin of the universe, framing Hindu concepts—such as the soul returning to a supreme, all-pervading Spirit—as ancient expressions of the universal principles preserved in Freemasonry 2.