Doctor Lewis

Master Makes a House Call to Duxbury

Paramahansa Yogananda, 1948

Master had been in New York lecturing.

At 3 a.m. Mrs. Lewis heard Master’s booming voice calling for Doctor Lewis. Master knew they were in Duxbury, but he didn’t know the exact address. Master seemed to be awakening the entire neighborhood. Finally, Mrs. Lewis was able to get his attention and direct him into the house.

Some devotees had driven him to Duxbury from New York and just dropped him off in the little community. The entire neighborhood had heard Master and later asked if the Swami from New York had found Doctor Lewis.

Master diagnosed Doctor and subsequently gave him a technique that Lahiri Mahasaya had given to Sri Yukteswarji who had given it to Master. It had to do with the application of cold to certain parts of the body. Master’s technique worked and Doctor passed some kidney stones which were extremely painful, but by using the technique he was never bothered again. Oh, how often Master showed up just when they needed him!

Master Heals Mama Lewis

In the summer of 1935, Mrs. Lewis was helping to remove a boat from its trailer for launching in the Duxbury bay. Suddenly, the weight of the boat shifted and she found herself trying to balance its entire weight by herself. She crumpled to the ground. Rushed to the Lewis home nearby, the local doctor told the family the bad news. The strain of the boat had caused a massive heart attack.

If only Master was there, they all sighed. But he was in India... too far to be reached.

Mrs. Lewis was returned to her Boston home and given strict orders. She could not go up and down stairs and she was to limit even walking on the level to a prescribed medical regimen. Doctor Lewis was shocked further when the prognosis was that she probably would only live two years. The children were put in boarding school.

Finally, Master was located and informed of the prognosis. When told of the two years he said, “We’ll see about that.”

With Master’s prescription for recovery and his spiritual power, Mrs. Lewis began to improve. And it wasn’t long before she was living a normal life.

When she moved to California, a heart expert was called in to diagnose her problem. She confided in him that there had been a spiritual healing and he accepted that for he knew of Yogananda. The doctor recognized that there was something different about her heart but he never discussed it further for she was living like anyone with a normal heart.

Paramansa Yogananda

Master Heals Doctor’s Crushed Fingers
(as told by Doctor)

Lewis' House at 24 Electric Ave. in Boston where Yogananda lived with the Lewis family 1920-23

The following personal experience shows that a strong mind can even prevent the formation in another person’s mind of a pattern that would have caused an undesirable change in matter.

One day, several years ago [1938] Paramahansaji and I had just arrived at Mt. Washington in his automobile. He left the car and went into the building. As I was getting out, the car door was accidentally slammed on my middle, ring and little fingers, up to the second joints. The automobile was of a vintage when it would have been impossible to catch one’s fingers in a car door without crushing them. Mine were flattened to the actual shape of the door jamb; the physical pain was excruciating. Bu

t there was also great mental pain; for I was quite sure it meant hospitalization, which would prevent me from returning the next day to Boston as planned.

The Master, who was by this time upstairs at Mt. Washington, was immediately informed of my predicament. From that instant there was a wall placed between my consciousness and the injured hand. When I momentarily passed through the wall, I felt the injury extremely; so I was perfectly willing to remain behind the wall! There was a little fear in my mind that someone would come in contact with my hand, so I held it across my chest, inside my coat; and that was all I did.

That evening a party of us was to attend a performance at the Hollywood Bowl. So complete was the Master’s care, I was able to go right along with them. The next day I had breakfast and dinner with the Master, but he paid no attention to my trouble. I was satisfied to leave it that way, and say nothing. That evening I left by train for the East, still without referring to the injury. That wall around my consciousness was still there. The following morning at breakfast I had enough courage to look at my hand. The fingers were normal in shape and size. All that remained of the injury was a little blue discoloration on two of the fingers. There was no discomfiture.

This was an instance of almost instantaneous healing of matter. The Master’s strong mind, contacting God’s Power, had prevented the injury from being accepted by my mind. I was thus saved from much difficulty and pain.

Cousin Dick

Brenda's Aunt Dolly, Dr. Lewis' sister, was a follower of Master. Master called her an angel. When first initiated by Master to Kriya Yoga, she saw the little star in the spiritual eye. It was she who, at Doctor Lewis' funeral at Forest Lawn, saw a great gust of wind blow over the bowers of flowers by the casket and then saw her brother appear. It is said that such evolved souls always attend their funeral.

Aunt Dolly and her husband were frequent visitors to the Lewis home and were neighbors in West Somerville, a suburb of Boston, when Master lived with the Lewis family on Electric Avenue. Aunt Dolly had two children; a boy and a girl. Her young son, Dick, was always attracted to Master, but was too young to understand the message of the guru at that time; nevertheless, he was blessed to grow up in such a strong spiritual environment. Later, he stayed a week at Mt. Washington in the company of Master during the Christmas holidays followed by a summer in Encinitas when he wrote his thesis "Living the SRF life in the world".

During World War II, Cousin Dick enlisted in the navy and was stationed aboard the battleship Iowa. Preparing to enter the South Pacific conflict in 1943, the Iowa docked at Long Beach for fueling and taking on supplies. It would take several days and so Cousin Dick called Master at the Hollywood Temple. Master invited him to come to the temple and visit, which Dick did with alacrity.

Master had known the boy since his infancy and so welcomed him with open arms and subsequently initiated him into Kriya Yoga. Cousin Dick was so enthralled with the meeting and the great upliftment he felt around Master that he wanted to stay with the guru and be a monastic. No, said Master, he must return to his ship and serve his country, adding that he would be protected.

And protected he was for the great battleship fought in some of the most furious battle of the South Pacific. On one occasion, Cousin Dick saw all his shipmates machine-gunned before his very eyes, but he remained unscathed.

Cousin Dick became a pediatrician after the war and practiced in Plymouth, near the Duxbury home of the Lewis family. He tells that he feels Master's mantel of protection to this day.

Master has promised that those who take Kriya Yoga and follow him will be protected along with their families. Doctor Lewis added that one of the greatest blessings in SRF is the protection one feels in God's Presence.

Master Goes to the Movies

In the 1940's, after Sunday service in San Diego, Master would invite the devotees to go the movies with him. Often the house was full but when Master found a seat, the regular patrons sitting around would somehow change seats and move away, leaving ample room for Master's party to sit. (Doctor said that it was because they couldn't tolerate Master's high vibrations).

During the movie, Master would often ask Mama Lewis to massage his feet, which she would do in spite of feeling very embarrassed! Mama would resist Master, but Doctor always told her "You'd better do what Master says." Master did this to break her ego…

One of the movies Master really enjoyed was "Song of Bernadette". In the movie, Ste. Bernadette sees the vision of The Lady - Master said that the portrayal of Divine Mother was exactly like the real thing. He further said that the actress Jennifer Jones would be permanently changed by her playing this role. Confirming Master's saying, she sometimes comes to the Lake Shrine…

Another movie they saw was "Dubarry was a Lady". There is a scene where Red Skelton portrays Louis the XV stumbling out of the coach and falling face first on the ground. Master roared with laughter - and he had all the devotees sit through a second showing of the movie to see the scene again! Master was always happy and wanted to teach the devotees to not take everything so seriously on the spiritual path.

Eating Out With Master

Master would often prefer to go to drive-ins such as the Brown Derby, because he could enjoy eating anonymously. One day, a car-hop came to get their order. Master asked her which church she attended. She said she went to a Catholic church. He told her "Good for you. Keep at it." Master never wore his religion on his sleeve and never wanted to disturb people who were established in their particular faith.

When Master ate in restaurants, he would always go to the kitchen to leave a tip to the chef, thanking him for the good job!

Master Remembers…

When Yogananda went back to visit his homeland in 1935, Bradford Lewis accompanied him for the first leg of the journey. Bradford was with Master in the Tower of London when Master told the curator that there was a water closet down the passageway. But the curator objected, saying that the Tower had been mapped for over 1,000 years and that there was no such water closet. Master said, "Follow me," and led the curator to a water closet which was hidden behind a brick wall.

Later, Bradford accompanied Master to Stonehenge. There was a circle of stones on the grounds around the area that had never been really identified. Master stood on one of them and told Bradford that he had been there 3,000 years earlier...

Carnegie Hall

During our Master’s first decade in America, he spoke in many of the great concert halls throughout the land, not the least of which was Carnegie Hall where the audience sang “Oh, God Beautiful” for hours and many miraculous healings happened.

On April l8, l926, Swami Yogananda opened a series of classes there. His success was tremendous. Carnegie Hall was filled to capacity and more than three thousand people were turned away, and only after police reserves were called to quell the besieging crowds. The 5,000 who got inside were spellbound.

One newspaper critic wrote: “Never in all my experience have I found such interest and enthusiasm displayed as a result of hearing the words of Yogananda.”

Doctor was very enthusiastic when he saw how many people were interested in Master’s teachings. But Master simply pointed out: “We will be lucky if five of them register for the Præcepta (Lessons).”

Master has said that wherever a saint has communed with God, which he obviously was doing on the night he chanted for hours ‘Oh God Beautiful’ with the audience, a vibration is established that will last for the remainder of this earth cycle.

And so despite many efforts to tear down the original Carnegie Hall since that memorable night, the concert hall still stands.