When we speak of reality being an illusion and the purpose of Maya being to conceal the truth, what does that mean from a practical standpoint? We first have to understand what illusion, Maya, or derangement of the mind is-- and why the majority of human beings exist in this state. Rahu is often described by Astrologers as the planet of Maya and illusion and rightly so, as Rahu represents the area in our life that causes us wish to hide ourselves from the objective truth due to our own impurity. Impurity (and what causes a person to fall into the state of impurity) is not simply when a person disobeys a law or rule imposed by a scripture or religious authority, nor is it a result of having sex, menstruating, ejaculating, being physically dirty, or any other externalized action. Impurity is essentially a state of mind that is causes by viewing a situation with a dualistic mindset, which insists that things are not interrelated and are incongruent with one another, as opposed to purity, which is comprised of interconnectedness and unity. A "pure" person is a person who is undivided and whole, and who views every phenomenon and event as not only connected but, also, as not being separate from their own internal universe. In other words, their internal "microcosm" is perfectly in tune with the external "macrocosm", and thus they perceive reality as a perfect extension of their own mind, and thus have pure and unclouded perception of reality. This is not the case for an "impure" person, who views things as separate and unconnected, and even violently insists that certain thing exist separately and in a severed state. In fact, the more impure a person is, the more they will insist on dividing up and compartmentalizing reality in unconnected boxes due to their own consciousness being in this exact state of multiplicity and confusion. This state is the opposite of the unity and clarity of an individual who practices actual Yoga, which is any activity that allows a person to attain and experience the unity behind creation, as opposed to falling into the confusion and dispersion of Maya and illusion. Individuals strongly under Maya will always insist things like, "sex and spirituality are separate" when sex is the root and mechanism behind uniting with God. They will insist that "love and sex are not connected" and proceed to explain why they love a woman for her mind but do not find her physically attractive and masturbate to "sluts" in private. Or say things like,"my material success is separate from my spiritual practice" when in reality they are directly connected, as to conquer the external means to conquer the internal. They will insist that because they have not been able to accurately categorize the Universe properly in a unified cosmological worldview that many things are severed which actually interact together beautifully, such as the Nakshatras and rashis, when in reality they are intimately connected as the symbolism and attributes plainly show. The list goes on and on, but this is why without understanding the goal of your spiritual journey, which revolves around achieving unity, you can get lost in the illusion and complexity of the unimportant particulars, and instead fall more and more deeply into Maya and thus into duality.
Those who are "materialistic" and are diving honestly into pursuit of their truest pleasures are accomplishing more on both levels (internal and external) than those in chains, afraid of their own libido and movement, severing themselves from every spark of passion in the name of "spirituality", that is actually far removed from its purpose. You are not aiming for a divided mentality or mindset regarding your mind and your body, your sexuality and your emotions, but are aiming to experience the divine unity behind these things and everything else as well. This leads us to the importance of understanding what correct spiritual practice actually looks like, as far too many people think it is a cerebral or intellectual endeavor, and thus turn themselves into armchair yogis or armchair occultists, fretting over texts, books, and theories, and lacking any mystical experiences, direct experience with what they are talking about, and become miserable about their inability to connect with the divine, or uncover the mechanisms behind occult practices and get them to work for themselves. Maya conceals the truth very effectively from anyone who is impure in their mind. While intellectual activities and development form a part of spiritual training, they are quite literally right at the beginning in the grand scheme of things, meant to be transcended when a person learns practical exercises, and begins to learn how to orchestrate mystical experiences for themselves in a passive sense-- and orchestrate physical events in accordance with their will through performing occult rituals. These inner and outer disciplines are again not separate from one another, and without understanding the connection between your internal mind and the external you cannot have mystical experiences or perform magic successfully that alters the world around you in a measurable way. Occult practice is ruled by Ketu, the headless body, just as intellectual dispersion and suffering are ruled by Rahu, the head. Real spiritual practice is very body-oriented and similar to athletic training, which is ruled by Mars, but with small differences. It is often said that Mars and Ketu act similarly, and athletic training and occultism mirror this similarity between these two planets as well. Both activities require a person to have an iron will, be focused mostly on your body, and to perform repetitive exercises in a consistent way that go against the average tendencies towards laziness and inconsistency. The major difference between spirituality and athletic training is that with spiritual exercises there is much more emphasis on complete passivity, whereas athletic training has a more interactive competitive element, even if you are only competing to beat your own personal records or achieve the kind of physique you desire. Rahu is what causes the mind to project the consciousness outward into the material world and matter, and is the outward flow of the mind and observation of the world through the external senses. Ketu is what causes the mind to withdraw and is the analysis of any stimulation or experience, and also our ability to comprehend non-physical stimulation. The majority of people approaching spirituality do not ever even try to bridge these by practicing self-analysis, and developing the ability to understand how to make sense and analyze their external perceptions, but are deluded by Maya and the external world to learn how to meditate and do so. Even though perfect and complete instructions are much more readily available than ever before, there is also a great deal more of impurity and Maya in the world, and so there is actually far less people who even desire to become self-aware than ever before. This is the exchange between the two opposing forces of Rahu and Ketu, illusion and truth, which always have a corresponding proportion in the world as a whole in relation to one another. As the light becomes brighter, the darkness and shadow becomes darker.