The Spiritual Expression of Friendship: new book by Paramahansa Yogananda illuminates deeper purpose of friendship
Celebrate the spirit of love and connection with a timeless new offering from one of the world’s most beloved spiritual teachers. The Spiritual Expression of Friendship, a new book by Paramahansa Yogananda (author of best-selling classic Autobiography of a Yogi), reveals the spiritual dimensions of friendship, a universal bond that awakens the heart and reflects the divine love and harmony shared among all — a timely prescription for today’s seemingly strife-torn and uncertain world.
Set for release in January 2026, this gift-sized, illustrated book features Yogananda’s writings, including affirmations and poetry, which he composed in the early 1930s.
In The Spiritual Expression of Friendship, Yogananda explains that in friendship lies a golden opportunity to practice unconditional love — to recognize “the One Friend hiding behind all friends.”
“Many are the seekers of love, but few know what love is or how it is to be found,” says Yogananda. “Love is the invisible reservoir of joy flowing out of the heart of the Infinite into the channels of human souls and all things. Love is joy in the true joy of others.”
By seeing the Divine within the self and others, the notion of separateness dissolves. “True friendship unites two souls so completely that they reflect the unity of Spirit and its divine qualities,” says Yogananda. The book features themes such as:
Applying spiritual principles to strengthen friendship and divine love
Recognizing friends from past lives
Developing the magnetism that draws true and enduring friendship
Cultivating friendship as the key to happiness in romantic love
Yogananda’s teachings present a clear, practical approach to developing healthy and happy relationships with all, not just with friends, but also with family, neighbors, coworkers, communities, and even those perceived as difficult or distant. The spiritual approach to friendship brings not only lasting peace, harmony, and fulfillment in our relationships, but also awakens the soul’s highest potentials.
Published by Self-Realization Fellowship — the organization founded by Yogananda in 1920 — The Spiritual Expression of Friendship will be available in hardcover in January 2026 and is available for pre-order in November 2025.
Full title: The Spiritual Expression of Friendship
Author name: Paramahansa Yogananda
Publisher: Self-Realization Fellowship
Publication date: January 2026
Hardcover: 4 3/4″ x 6 3/4″ 64 pages; illustrated
Price: $14.95
ISBN: 9781685682286
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Background Information
Paramahansa Yogananda first arrived in America in 1920 from his native India, an invited delegate to an International Congress of Religious Liberals convening in Boston, where he delivered a speech on the science of religion, marking a pivotal point for yoga in the West. Yogananda founded Self-Realization Fellowship that same year to disseminate his Kriya Yoga teachings, which have inspired many through the years to cultivate their innate soul qualities and live with greater peace, joy, and purpose. Yogananda’s spiritual classic, Autobiography of a Yogi, continues to be recognized as one of the world’s most influential books.
Self-Realization Fellowship (SRF) is the international nonprofit spiritual organization founded in 1920 by Paramahansa Yogananda to introduce to people of all races, cultures, and creeds the ancient science and philosophy of yoga and its time-honored tradition of meditation. Through its spiritual and humanitarian service, the society seeks to foster greater harmony and goodwill among the diverse peoples and nations of the world, and a deeper understanding of the underlying unity of all religions. Together with Yogoda Satsanga Society of India (YSS), the name by which Paramahansa Yogananda’s work is known in India, SRF/YSS has more than 800 meditation centers, temples and retreats throughout the world.
For more information about Paramahansa Yogananda and his society, Self-Realization Fellowship, please visit Yogananda.org.
Disclaimer: The views and opinions expressed in this article are those of the authors and do not necessarily reflect the official policy or position of Religion News Association
