From the chapter PART III Diary of the book “Guru Ramana – Memories and Notes” by S. S. Cohen.
20th April
Sri Maharshi’s health is causing grave anxiety to the three doctors, who have been in constant attendance on him, as well as to the devotees. A lady devotee wept much and went to him in tears and asked him to give her his disease and be cured of it, saying: “Bhagavan, you who are curing others must cure yourself and spare your life for us, your devotees.” Once, twice he waved her off, and, seeing her great concern finally replied with great tenderness: “Why are you so much attached to this body? Let it go.”
At about 5 p.m. the local Police officials and Mrs. T. approached Sri Maharshi and explained to him all the arrangements they had made for the opening ceremony of the temple erected by this lady over the Pathala Lingam. They wanted to know the year in which the first photograph of his was taken at Tiruvannamalai and a few other details. Sri Maharshi replied: “It was taken four years after my coming i.e., in 1900. Originally that lingam was on the surface of the ground, like all other samadhis, before the big temple was built, but in course of time the ground-level rose. When much later the thousand-pillar mantapam was built about four or five feet higher than the ordinary level, the lingam sunk still lower, so much so that it earned for itself the name patala (underground) lingam. In those days I was alone with the elephant, which was always tied in the mantapam.” They prostrated and left. But Sri Bhagavan continued his reminiscences: “I stayed about six months in the big temple (in which Patala lingam occupies a small corner), September 1896 to March 1897 – in all the places in it. Urchins used to run after me and, when I hid myself in Patala lingam, they used to pelt me with stones and potsherds from outside, none of which, however, could reach me, as I used to sit in the south-east corner. The urchins never dared to come in because of the extreme darkness in the pit, and the broken steps which could not be seen from above.”