On the 7th June 2009 myself and Lindsay made a visit to the resting place of the first and last Guardian of the Bahá’í Faith, Shoghi Effendi. He was visiting the UK when on November 4th 1957 following a brief flu, he passed away in his sleep.
The faith teaches us that when we die we should be buried no more than an hours travel from the place of our passing, and in accordance with those teachings The Guardian was interned in what is now New Southgate Cemetery in North London.
I have visited the resting place previously, back in January 2009 during the London Conference on the 5-Year Plan, that visit was made in the dead of night however and myself and my companion were unable to actually enter the court itself, we were only able to pray outside the walls. That was a deeply touching a very spiritual experience, though a little scary I must say.
This time I was taking Lindsay, now due to a mistake in the booking of travel and hotels for the London Conference, I had a spare hotel room for the night of the 7th June, so we went down on the bus overnight on the Friday to arrive bright and early Saturday, we did a little sightseeing and then retired to the hotel to eat and rest up for our pilgrimage on the Sunday.
We were at a hotel near Park Royal tube station in Acton, West London, and we had to cross the entire Piccadilly line almost to reach Arnos Grove the nearest tube station to the cemetery. This was a journey of at least and hour and a half plus the walk to the cemetery. When we were a few stops away we were ushered off the train, someone had gotten trapped under a train further up the line. So we had to get off and find a bus to get us to Arnos Grove.
We found out the best bus to get us there was the 184, but unfortunately the first one that came the bus driver went without us, so we grabbed a quick lunch and caught the next one. We got to Arnos Grove some 35 minutes later, time was not on our side and we were tempted to call off the trip as we had to make sure we got the bus back to Newcastle, but we had got this far, so we decided to keep going and if we missed the bus back well, we would think of something.
We struggled down to Arnos Grove, Lindsay has been suffering from Tendinitis and is struggling to walk at a normal pace, we took the back way in and arrived shortly after at the resting place of the Guardian. I did look for the elderly couple who look after the place, but they were not around.
So we opened the gates and stepped in and said our prayers, it was a most tranquil place, and after a while you simply become unaware of the noise and traffic from the city around it, the birds and wildlife sound louder, and nature seems to bloom all around you.
The fist time I came I was simply overwhelmed and in awe at this place, this time I was simply blown away and left speechless, on our way the weather was a 
bit dodgy, but as soon as we stepped into the cemetery the sun came out and shone down upon the Guardians Resting Place, the sky itself turned from gray to glorious blue, and the reflections of the sun off the eagle gave the whole place, well I am still lost for words to describe it.
This place is truly magical and it has great power, we in the UK are so privilege to have this holy place here.
We were unable to stay as long as we wanted as we had to get back for the bus so we left and went back up the hill to get the bus and then the tube to Victoria and get home to Newcastle.
Its funny, despite all the obstacles coming up during the day which could have deterred us from going we persevered and kept going and we made it, just, we made it to Victoria Coach Station with literally minutes to spare, so I think God wanted us to make this pilgrimage, and that he helped us get there and ensured our safe return home.
I plan to return sometime soon, but next time I would like to go during the week so that I might visit Rutland Gate the home of the National Spiritual Assembly as this place has many connections with the early history of the faith and I think it would be a wonderful experience. I would also encourage any Bahá’í who has not yet been able to visit the Guardians Resting Place, to try and do so as it truly is a magical place.
Whilst we were there we both said prayers for the young man trapped under the train and for the train driver, I have an uncle who is a train driver and I know a little bit about what people go through when they are in that situation. I later learned via my Aunt whom also works for London Underground that the young man, who was only 23, passed away shortly after we arrived at the Guardians Resting Place. I pray God helps them both.
The photos we took at the Guardians Resting Place can be seen by clicking here.
God Bless
Michael
