What is the Volume of the Sacred Law and why is it open in lodge?

The Volume of the Sacred Law is one of the Three Greater Lights of the lodge, serving as a symbol of the divine will and the external expression of the unwritten Eternal Word 23. It is not restricted to any single religious faith; while historically represented in many lodges by the Holy Bible 13, it encompasses whichever scripture a candidate holds sacred and binding upon his conscience, such as the Koran, the Shastras, or the Zoroastrian code 1. The Grand Lodge of India notes that candidates take their oath upon the text sacred to them, and the United Grand Lodge of England similarly affirms that a candidate of another faith takes his obligation on the holy book most relevant to his belief. The ritual directs serious contemplation to the Volume of the Sacred Law as an unerring standard of Truth and Justice, charging Masons to regulate their actions by its light and teaching duties owed to God, to one's neighbour, and to oneself.

Displaying the volume open upon the altar signifies that the work of the lodge is conducted under divine guidance and moral law 23. It forms the base upon which the remaining Greater Lights—the Square and the Compasses—rest 2. Walter Leslie Wilmshurst observes that the open volume symbolizes the Divine Word illuminating human darkness, serving to remind the candidate that the ground of his being rests in spiritual wisdom 2. Carl H. Claudy explains that the open book acts as a universal emblem of the Will of the Great Architect of the Universe, providing a common center of union where men of all creeds may meet 3. Where a candidate of another faith is obligated upon his own sacred book, historical ruling under the English Constitution required that the regular open Bible remain displayed in the lodge during the proceedings 1.