Circle of Friends is more than just a book—it is a spiritual companion for those yearning to unite with the Absolute through divine friendship. At its core lies a poetic retelling of the manifest and unmanifest pastimes of Kṛṣṇa from the perspective of sakhya-rasa, supported by an in-depth examination of the philosophy and theology underlying the Vaiṣṇava notion of divine play—līlā. The text also features how to attain sakhya-prema and the history of its pursuit as it has manifested over the last five centuries within the Cai­tanya Vaiṣṇava community. 

While all four of Rūpa Goswāmī’s divisions of fraternal love are addressed with the nuance they deserve, Swāmī B. V. Tripurāri has at the same time honed the text to focus on the bhāva of Kṛṣṇa’s most intimate friends, his priya-narma-sakhās, who are indispensable to the romantic life of Rādhā and Kṛṣṇa. As such, there is also much to be gained from this book for sādhakas of the Gauḍīya tradition whose practice is centered on mādhurya-rasa.  $19.99