Shams of Tabriz: The Stranger Who Changed a Poet

In this episode, Harmonia returns after Matilda Joslyn Gage to tell the story of Shams of Tabriz-the wandering dervish whose fierce honesty transformed Rumi and reshaped the spiritual imagination of a century. Through scenes of Konya's winter streets and intimate conversations between two unlikely companions, we explore how spiritual awakening often arrives in the form of disruption. Harmonia traces Shams's mysterious life, his unsettling brilliance, and the fire he sparked in another soul-asking what it means today to meet someone who changes the course of our inner world.
Season 1
Episode 39
Religion

The Fire of Love

In this episode of The Golden Thread, we journey to 8th-century Basra to meet Rbia al-Adawiyya, the mystic who carried a torch and a bucket through the night, vowing to set fire to heaven and extinguish hell. Her message was clear: God should be loved for love's sake alone. We'll explore how her witness reshaped Sufi spirituality, why her radical devotion still unsettles and inspires, and how it invites us to live and love without calculation. Then, we'll look ahead to India, where the poet-weaver Kabir sang of love that mocked hypocrisy and transcended temples and mosques.
Season 1
Episode 3
Religion