Rahu kaal Durga puja is a ritual that is practised every Tuesday and Saturday between 3 – 5pm (Malaysian time): known to be the time at which the planet Rahu (known as a shadow planet) transmits negative vibrations to those under the influence of the planet. Rahu is governed by Maa Durga, thus, praying to Her at the spefic times on Tuesdays and Saturdays will diminsh any negative consequences of the impact Rahu may have on our astrological charts.

I have practised this ritual for more than a decade now and find so much release every time I perform the ritual. Honestly speaking, the ritual is not as lengthy and tedious as most temples in the country make it out to be – it is more, a connection with the Goddess amidst our busy schedule, stopping and taking stock of all that we seek while taking respite in knowing that She is always there to deliver us to our callings.

Today i asked that my cowrie shells be blessed for the divination work that I am to embark on soon: something I learnt some years ago while playing shells in the temple – the wisdom just came on its own as mathematical formulae did for Ramanuja, the man who knew infinity.

Cowrie shell divination is an ancient art of reading the fate, fortune and forecast of a person’s life.

It is a dying art with not much information available on how to read these shells. For some, it is wisdom passed down from mother to child, while for some others, it was taught by a Guru proficient with the language of the cowrie. It is believed, that the language is revealed to those who are pure at heart and will not misuse the wisdom of the shells!

Today’s Rahu Kaal Durga puja coincided with the Varahi Gupt Navarathri timeline (30th June – 8th July) and is believed to be even more powerful and amplified, in terms of rituals and sadhana to the Goddess – a good time to seek blessings for projects or manifests that you want to realise for the coming months (hence, my shells).

As we contemplate our sadhana (practise), we bring awareness to the fact that prayer is the sum total of our existence. We don’t take time off to pray but live in ritual when we offer ourselves in prayer – we then become the offering and all that is offered in prayer. And when the lines merge between living and praying, is when, we become one with that which we know and that which we are aware of – it is then, that we become our own sadhana, the union of our prayer and that power we pray to.

SUJATA NANDY WORLD GURUKUL