I remember the time I was in the presence of Shoghi Effendi
when he spoke about the significance of twin things [1] in the Cause. In fact,
he sent a cable about this to the National Spiritual Assembly of the Baha'is of
the British Isles. In this cable, he told us about the significance of twin
occurrences in this Cause. He told the Assembly that we have twin cities – holy
cities -'Akka and Haifa; twin houses - the House of Shiraz and the House of
Baghdad; twin Manifestations - the Manifestation of the Bab and that of
Baha'u'llah. He continued, telling us everything is twin: twin festivals- the
birthday of the Bab and that of Baha'u'llah; twin monuments - of the brother
and mother of 'Abdu'l-Baha. During this time I was in his presence, the beloved
Guardian was so exhilarated and happy. It gave me the courage to mention to him
that we have two gardens: the garden of Ridvan and the garden of Firdaws. Then,
the beloved Shoghi Effendi smiled and said, "You've noted that, but you
have forgotten to say twin vistas: the view of the sea and the view of the
mountain." After explaining these things, he paused and looked at me
deeply and said, "In the Cause of God everything is twin." I have no
doubt that he meant two Manifestations and two Interpreters: The Bab and
Baha'u'llah, the two Manifestations of God; and 'Abdu'l-Baha and the beloved
Shoghi Effendi, the two Interpreters.
(Hand of the Cause Dhikru’llah Khadem, ‘The Vision of Shoghi
Effendi’, Proceedings of the Association for Baha'i Studies, Ninth Annual
Conference, November 2-4, 1984, Ottawa, Canada)
[1] Shoghi Effendi, Messages to the Bahai' World 1950-1957:
"Greatly enhanced international endowments in Holy Land in twin cities of
Acre and Haifa, now include twin Holy Shrines situated on plain of Acre and
slope of Mount Carmel; twin Mansions of Bahji and Mazra'ih, twin historic
Houses inhabited by Baha'u'llah and ‘Abdu’l-Baha; twin International Archives
adjoining the Bab's Sepulcher and the resting-place of the Greatest Holy Leaf; twin
Pilgrim Houses, constructed for Oriental and Occidental pilgrims; twin Gardens
of Ridvan and Firdaws, associated with the memory of the Author of the Baha'i
Dispensation."
