How do you stay spiritual when the people around you are difficult, negative, or constantly testing your peace?

In this episode of Conversations with a Master, Sadhvi Siddhali Shree asks Acharya Shree Yogeesh how spirituality can actually be practiced in the workplace—where difficult bosses, negative coworkers, criticism, stress, and uncomfortable conversations are often unavoidable.

Acharya Shree begins with the idea that work itself can be divine. When a person works peacefully and willingly rather than with resentment and force, even ordinary work can become part of spiritual life.

The greater challenge is learning not to absorb the negativity of others.

Acharya Shree uses the image of someone throwing a bucket of mud onto your clothes. The mud may be thrown once, but the mind can keep replaying the incident for hours, days, or even months. The person who hurt you may already have moved on, while you continue carrying the emotional residue.

His advice is to “change your clothes” internally: clean yourself, let the incident go, and refuse to allow someone else’s behavior to keep polluting your mind.

Sadhvi Siddhali asks whether being spiritual means always staying quiet. What happens when you need to stand up for yourself, challenge a boss, or respond to unfair treatment?

Acharya Shree’s answer is one of the central teachings of the episode: be your own boss.

For him, being your own boss means remaining in control of yourself. If another person’s criticism immediately controls your thoughts, emotions, and reactions, you have handed your inner authority to them.

Spirituality does not mean weakness, and it does not mean accepting unlimited mistreatment. Acharya Shree distinguishes between occasional negativity and situations that become continually harmful or abusive. Sometimes letting go is appropriate; at other times, a person may need to establish boundaries or leave.

The conversation then turns toward self-reflection. Acharya Shree reminds seekers how easy it is to spend life observing everyone else’s faults while avoiding their own. Real spirituality brings attention back inward: work on yourself first.

Sadhvi Siddhali also asks about the difference between ordinary criticism and the correction given by a true spiritual teacher. Acharya Shree compares a master to a potter who supports a clay pot with one hand while striking and reshaping it with the other.

What appears harsh from the outside may actually be correction supported by compassion.

The episode concludes with a practical spiritual practice for people entering negative environments. Acharya Shree recommends repeating Namo Arihantanam while visualizing white light surrounding the body as a form of spiritual protection before going to work.

Other people may not change.

The spiritual practice is learning how not to lose yourself because of them.

• How to practice spirituality in the workplace
• Why Acharya Shree says work can be divine
• How to deal with difficult bosses and coworkers
• The “bucket of mud” analogy
• Why we carry negative experiences long after they happen
• How to stop taking criticism personally
• What it means to “be your own boss”
• Spiritual self-control versus controlling others
• When to let something go
• When workplace behavior crosses into abuse
• Why spirituality does not mean weakness
• The importance of looking inward instead of judging others
• The difference between criticism and spiritual correction
• Why a true master corrects their students
• The potter analogy: correction and protection
• Namo Arihantanam and white light visualization
• How to protect your inner state in a negative environment

Continue Your Spiritual Journey

Conversations with a Master is recorded at Siddhayatan Tirth & Spiritual Retreat, a spiritual center and ashram near Dallas, Texas, where Acharya Shree Yogeesh, Sadhvi Siddhali Shree, and Sadhvi Anubhuti offer teachings, retreats, meditation, yoga, and programs for inner transformation.

Visit Siddhayatan to step away from the distractions of everyday life, deepen your spiritual practice, and experience these teachings in person.

Explore upcoming retreats, events, teachings, and ways to visit at Siddhayatan.org.

EPISODE CREDITS:

Production by Siddhayatan Tirth Productions
Directed and Produced by Sadhvi Siddhali Shree