Releasing Ourselves From This World — With Iko Congo

One Baha’i quotation, says our Moments of Meaning guest Iko Congo, changed his life. When he truly meditated on its meaning, he resolved to move to another country solely to serve humanity.

In this episode of the Moments of Meaning podcast, Portuguese-born management consultant Iko Congo recounts how he meditated on and prayed about this powerful quotation from the writings of Abdu’l-Baha, and how it generated enormous inspiration and change:

Release yourselves from this world’s life, and at every stage long ye for non-existence; for when the ray returneth to the sun, it is wiped out, and when the drop cometh to the sea, it vanisheth, and when the true lover findeth his Beloved, he yieldeth up his soul.

In the passage Iko chose, Abdu’l-Baha seems to say that our physical existence in this world is limited, and therefore those who cling to it limit themselves. When he first heard the quote, Iko says, it was in the lyrics of a song – but later he realized its deeper meaning. We’re all destined, sooner or later, to depart from the physical realm, so until we submerge the self in the sea of oneness, unity, and service to others, we close off and limit our prospects for full spiritual growth and development. 

This realization, especially when it comes early in life, can help anyone act in a way that prioritizes the permanent over the temporary – to focus on real change in oneself and in the world.

“I think it’s fundamental,” Iko says in the interview, “to think about the example of Abdu’l-Baha. … his title itself means servant, and that was the title he chose for himself. And that’s where we really find our purpose, that’s where we really find our meaning is in this quest, or in this action of serving others.”

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Please listen as we interview Iko Congo about the moment of deep, transformative meaning he experienced while pondering one of the powerful insights in the Baha’i writings.