Becoming Kali’s priest as Rashani has meant that I have consciously invited the process of birthing my soul. And whether in Kolkata or San Francisco, this goddess has both represented and simultaneously been more than personification, metaphor or archetype of my transformation.

Today, after annual pilgrimages to her homeland and over thirteen years of public pujas offered in her name, I am much more comfortable with my role and responsibilities relative to Her teachings in the flesh. The learning continues as I plunge more deeply with community into the realms She inhabits and seek to know more intimately the gateways She guards. Her gifts, sometimes even the passwords that open the gateways, have been largely earned on the path of practice and service.