SRF/YSS Reviews

by RanBash

Overly simplified. Constantly closes upon opening. the reader is terrible, parts of pages break up into the next page which is highly annoying and not neat. The reader is very laggy/ stiff feeling. Going to the next page is a struggle alone. But my biggest issue with this is is again the reader not being smooth and having cut off pages. I was hoping this lessons app was going to be the lessons in raw texts not images of the new lessons. Would have been smoother to scroll text. But anyway hopefully they fix the reader somehow. The lessons are nice but it’s a pain to even use. Also student who have completed all lessons should have their app lessons entirely unlocked. Starting all over is nonsensical.

by Grateful Lemur

I love having the lessons handy. They are fantastic. SRFYSS itself needs some work. I can usually open it a few times before to stops working, and does a type of force close every time I try to open it. I am forced then to delete SRFYSS and reinstall it. This will be my fourth time having to do that. Hopefully that is a bug that will be fixed, because I love having access to the lessons.

by J Penelope

My only issue is the constant login and it doesn’t always seem to resume where you left off. I love SRFYSS other than that. I am confident it will get better and happy to be part of the pilot. I was leery about switching over but I’m glad I did. It’s helped me be more disciplined in a few short days and I like having the resource readily available for support.

by CCguru

The idea and physical implementation of the new lessons is beyond great. It is early in the life of this new app and perhaps there is a plan to address this later, but there is a real issue now, in my opinion. To me the biggest benefit to SRFYSS is to have all of the appropriately authorized material with you anywhere and anytime. The problem is that for some reason SRFYSS will automatically log itself out at least daily. As long as you are connected to the internet this is an inconvenience but not a showstopper. The problem is that most of my reading is via my iPad for obvious reasons. The iPad needs a WiFi network to connect to the internet so it is often not connected when out of the house. So when I am away from the house and want to read some of the lessons material there is no way to log in to get to the material. This is the showstopper part that needs to be addressed to make SRFYSS totally great. There are many ways to address the needed material security and still have the authorized material available all the time. I hope this gets fixed to address the availability issue.

by Ddgarcia

Generally SRFYSS is solid and does what it’s intended to do - offer secondary access to the (printed) lessons. SRF already has a comprehensive website so to include any of that here would be redundant. However, it would be nice if a few more inspirational quotes were added to SRFYSS (like when a new lesson is opened or have the quote change every time SRFYSS is opened) just to keep the fire going :)

But where SRFYSS needs an immediate fix is with the login. Whenever I close SRFYSS and then come back to it the next day, I have to log in again. There needs to be a more stable “keep me logged in” function.

by Al Revez

I use my ipad all the time and I would like to see a few things added to SRFYSS such as able to read the lessons in landscape mode, also to be able to to highlight Interesting paragraphs in different colors. I would also like to see a copy and paste feature so that I can read read my notes at a later date.
Thank you in advance.

by Turtle The Kid

Almost perfect. Really appreciate all the work that went into this. For me, it would be even better to be able to use it in horizontal position so I don’t have to hold my iPad the entire time and I can use holder. It is a small thing but in the spirit of constructive criticism I share my observation. I have noticed others mention this too. I am hopeful developer will fix this small nuisance soon. Thanks

by Vik - CA

I wish we had downward scrolling instead of flipping the page. It becomes very difficult to read the bottom of the page. This feature is available in kindle and all other apps and enjoy it while reading Gurujis book on those apps.

I also miss the Portrait orientation. Specially when you are using the iPad. To hold the iPad vertically becomes tiresome after sometime. While most iPad covers are designed to stand in portrait/horizontal mode. Also being wide we get more text per line and is very helpful.

However very grateful to have the lesson’s online and readily available when I travel.

by Uhcub1

The latest version 2.0.3 is not working for me. The screen just blinks and goes away. Not sure what seems to be the problem. I deleted and installed again still problem persists. Can someone help please? Thank you!

by Seema SRF

How wonderful that we now have digital access to the lessons on the go! I have been reading them every morning at work (early at 6:30 am when it’s very quiet). It’s a great way to start the day, filled with the inspiration of God and Gurus. Thank you SRF for this gift 🌺.

by CharLin Mae

Thinking of all the love and devotion that went into delivering these lessons through this wonderful portal, I am most thankful and awed.
My iPhone 6 does a wonderful job with this application providing very readable text with different size and background to suit different preferences. Very user friendly.
Linda Mae Smith

by ElliottRose

Thank you for all of the thought and work that went into SRFYSS . It looks like some of the foundational issues people have expressed around the readability are being addressed. Thank you for being so responsive! Updating now.

The guided meditations and truly all the content have been awe-inspiring! Jai Guru!

As for the “terrible” review, I’d ask that devotee to find the joy and power in “starting over” with these incredibly expanded and reorganized lessons. Do you trust all the visionaries and devotees behind this process? I’m finding immense inspiration, depth, and hopefully greater attunement with our beloved guru and his teachings by pacing with the new system. There are more subtle points of the sadhana I’m discovering for the first time, and there’s no limit to how Master’s teachings can be practiced.

by Goobikah

Thank you so much for the repair! I do not know what you did. I just know that my Lessons App. works perfectly on my iPhone at last! I do so much appreciate all your time and attention. It was worth the wait! You all are Amazing ❤️ Thank you so much! Jai Guru! -Susan K. 😊

by Reviewer 699

I’m so glad SRF made an app so I can take the lessons with me wherever I take my phone, which is mostly everywhere!
I have one request for improvement, if possible? It would be helpful to have multiple colors to highlight with. On my Kindle I like to put the REALLY important stuff in the pink color and if there are two important thoughts in a row, I can differentiate with two different color highlights. But I also know this world is not our home so we can’t have everything :-)

Edit: can you also add a way to undo the highlight? Sometimes I accidentally add an extra word and there doesn’t seem to be a way to undo it. Thanks.

by Lu Birdie

What an incredible upgrade for the SRF/YSS app! From the live meditation and study groups, to the flash cards you can create to deepen our knowledge, the option to read or have the lessons read to us, to the incredible UX design; this is absolutely astounding! What a blessing in this day and age to have access to all of Yogananda’s teachings in an organized and beautiful platform, all in the palm of our hands!

Thank you to SRF/YSS monastics for making this astral app happen and for their ceaseless dedication to Gurudev’s work and mission. The future is N O W!

by Guruji's Little Puppy

Thank you so much for this amazing App!!! Specially for the EE! Huge help.
I was just wondering if we could have audio on the animated review of them. That will be even more helpful to see the lighted body parts when listening and following along. Thank you for considering this request.

by Cynthia Luma

The format is so beautiful and sacred. I love reviewing the lessons I’ve received so far and look forward to the lessons that will be coming. Thank you to all of you who have taken the time to create this wonderful addition to the SRF studies.

by Woodby Flutist

The SRF/YSS app was always a blessing. With the most recent (very major) upgrade, the blessing is vastly multiplied.

I had long hoped that the lessons would allow me to use them in a landscape format, and the new update does that.

The expansion of the scope of SRFYSS adds so much that I hadn’t imagined would be in SRFYSS that it is beyond my expectations. Self-Realization Fellowship has once again done things the way God and Guru would want.

Thank you, thank you, thank you!!

by MacRC

I have a few moments free. So I open up the now familiar SRF/YSS app. I get a notice: new update available. And I start reading the "What's New" section on SRFYSS Store, and are just mind blown with this new update (version 3.0.0). So many new features! SRF/YSS is a top notch organization. Like Bro. Anandamoy told us Master once said: "Yes. A teaching of this importance could not have been giving [to deliver to the world] to a lesser one". (Yogananda said this when asked if he was an avatar).

So I say the same about SRF/YSS: Yes, they are top-notch. A teaching of this importance could not have been given to deliver to a lesser organization.

Personal reflection: Sometimes I feel it is a miracle that such an organization as SRF/YSS exists on this earth. It feels surreal to have access to these teachings. And I feel extremely blessed for it.

by Py's Little One

Thank you to all of you dear souls who have worked on SRFYSS. So grateful to have all of our Guruji’s teachings with us wherever we go. And the auxiliary content is so wonderful. And going to get even better over the years! Thank you so much for all you are doing for us!

One thought... hoping to see more of the world family members in the pictures in the lessons... Hoping Guruji’s devotees in Latin America, Asia, Africa, India, etc... are represented in the animations and pictures in the lessons and on the auxiliary content and voice recordings etc... want to see all the beautiful costumes and voices God made for His souls represented! Happy to see more of that on the website.. would love it to extend to the lessons and app.

Thank you all again! Aum, aum, aum.

by Bennyhaanna

Every day I feel so grateful for these lessons and this new app. Has been working great for me and I have been waiting for this since the 2017 announcement of lessons and online materials. This goes way beyond what I had hoped and expected, so thankful for all the love and work put into this. Thank you so much!

by Bwww108

Love this ap! But upon upgrading my iPhone 6+ yesterday with the latest ios the ap will no longer open. Tried deleting and reinstalling but did not fix.

by Judydavie

Having SRFYSS is a blessing. Overall I am thrilled by it. I was traveling when Lesson One was mailed, and was very grateful to be able to read it on my device. The people around me in the airport were no doubt startled by my whoop of delight when Lesson One appeared!

Here are a few items for your future consideration: The first day, I was being prompted to sign in multiple times, being told I had “timed out” after just a couple of hours of app use but am hoping that with the update, this has been corrected.

Second, the highlighting worked well except when the material was at the bottom of the page. To highlight that, I had to change the font size to reformat the text to bring it higher up on the page, highlight it, then reformat again to the font size best suited to my eyes. This was of course a minor issue overall when weighed against the value of having portal lessons, but is on my wish list.

Finally, my ideal lesson app would include a way to make notes (like the Nook and Kindle apps do) on selected passages, and also a full display of highlighted passages not just the first line or two.

What a blessing SRFYSS is! Thank you for all the loving work that went into developing and providing this for us.