Frequently Asked Questions
about the World Welfare Mission

World Welfare Mission is an international, non-governmental organization founded by Swami Krishna Deo. Our statutory goal is to create stress-free and violence-free society. The basis for a stress-free society is the peaceful individual. World Welfare Mission provides humanitarian projects for the society and courses for the individual.

What are the goals of the World Welfare Mission?

Stress-free and violence-free society; to encourage people from all backgrounds, religions, and cultural traditions to come together in celebration, Yoga, Meditation and selfless services. To achieve these goals, we offer courses and humanitarian projects to eliminate stress from the mind and establish peace & harmony in society. The World Welfare Mission also offers material assistance or trauma relief through disaster management project – during natural calamity. We offer education and empowerment programs so people can break the
poverty cycle and stand along with the main stream of the society. On the other hand, those who are affluent may nevertheless be frustrated, depressed or simply wanting to grow spiritually in life and looking for peace. In the latter case, it is not material support that is needed but training programs like 'Sahaj Krishna Yog-The Art of Joyful Living'. This is for anyone who would like to learn some Spiritual& Scientific Stress busting and breathing techniques to release tension/stress, and enable the individual to handle any challenges in life.

What is the significance of the breath? Why is it so important?

Breathing is normally an unconscious process. The breath is the link between the body, mind and spirit. When the mind is free of fear, guilt and anger, and is more centred, then it can heal the system of any ailment. Through the practice of our breathing techniques, you will learn to consciously govern the breath so that it brings harmony into your body, mind and spirit.

How long has the 'Sahaj Krishna Yog' course been taught?

Since 2005. Since then people from different backgrounds, religions and cultures have done the course globally.

What is a satsang? I noticed 'Sahaj Krishna Yog' organizes events called satsangs where there is a lot of laughter , fun activities , Bhajans(spiritual song vocal/instrumental) , like a celebration. It looks like a lot of fun, but what has that to do with stress relief or promoting human values?

As we all know today, the human brain has two hemispheres - the right half which is more connected to art and intuition, and the left half which is more connected to logic and reasoning. Some people are more logical and perhaps do not like music and dance. Others are more spontaneous and like dancing, but avoid logic or more intellectual activities. It's important to develop both aspects for either of them to fully flourish, and this is what satsang is all about. It's well known that geniuses like Einstein did not think only logically, but also very intuitively; with pictures. It doesn't matter if right now you dance well or sing well – and don't be surprised if not every satsang is a professional concert! Whether you sing well or not - it's very beneficial to participate anyway. So at a satsang, there is some singing and dancing – in all languages from Sanskrit to Spanish, from English to French, emphasizing the universality of our message. There is also some discussion on spiritual wisdom, i.e. there is a balance of intellectual activity and music. To find out more, take the first step , join or organize a program(group session) near you and ask the Master!

Is it a self development program or something spiritual?

It's both! The basis of spirituality is simply knowing ourselves better. You will find that the 'Sahaj Krishna Yog' Course releases layers of stress without effort. You will discover the hidden laws that govern the mind, as well as skills to effectively deal with negative emotions. In addition you will enjoy the ancient practices of yoga, meditation and rhythms of breath (Pranayama), as these are combined in new ways to nourish all levels of the body, mind and spirit.

So, can anyone take part in a program?

Yes! The courses are open to people of all ages, backgrounds, cultures and traditions from across the world. They do not conflict with any person's existing religious or spiritual practices.

"We identify ourselves as somebody - I belong to this religion, this culture, this tradition; but we forget the basic identity that we are human beings." - Sri Sri Ravi Shankar

Where do the techniques come from? India? Yoga?

Many of the techniques used in our programs are indeed based on yoga, and it is also true to say that 'the East' in general has a long tradition of ways of dealing with stress. You might say that eastern cultures in some way have specialized in knowledge about stress, personal development and handling various emotions. And the founder of the World Welfare Mission , Swami Krishna Deo, is from India as well. However, the techniques taught and the human values we promote are completely universal. For example, breathing techniques are a key to stress release - and we all breathe, whether we were born in the so-called 'West' or so-called 'East'!

How can I become a member of World Welfare Mission?

There is no formal membership process. A member could be anyone who would like to come for a course, volunteer for services in Social Shivir, Plantation project, Mission 'Vidya'- Education project for underprivileged and disaster management during natural calamity or donate. Whether it is through cash contributions or donations in kind, time, or expertise, World Welfare Mission offers a variety of opportunities for you to extend your support. Donations can be made directly to specific projects of your choice or to the general fund of the
Mission that supports a host of activities. If you would like to participate in a free-of-charge introduction to our
courses, contact us at worldwelfaremission@gmail.com If you would like to come for regular sessions, you should first take the course: 'Sahaj Krishna Yog-The Art of Joyful Living' corporate course or social course.

How can I volunteer with World Welfare Mission?

If you have participated in any of our social or corporate programme , simply join us through join us area on our site www.worldwelfaremission.org, using the full personal details and mention attended venue and date, fill up the form there or write us at worldwelfaremission@gmail.com. If you have not taken 'Sahaj Krishna Yog' course yet, please contact us through mail or contact us on phone number given in contact us page, let us know how you might be interested in helping. You might also want to join us for a course!

In your press releases, it is mentioned that your activities are 'volunteer-based'? Why do so many people want to join in? What do they get out of it?

The vast majority of the people who contribute to our activities are indeed volunteers. In each country, there are a few administrative staff who are employed. Why do people want to volunteer? The satisfaction from doing something for others is very great. It's a natural impulse to help others - something which young children exhibit, but sometimes stress, fear and other negative emotions block. Part of being more relaxed and content is a sense of belongingness to others, and from this sense of belongingness, service activity becomes spontaneous!

What is meant by 'Seva'? You sometimes speak about it in your press releases.

'Seva' is a Sanskrit word meaning service. Sanskrit being the language of ancient yoga teachers, whose techniques have been adapted for modern life by World Welfare Mission's courses. One of the basic goals of the World Welfare Mission is to provide a place where all people may come together for celebration and service ('Seva'), as an organisation which welcomes all as part of its peace-making initiatives. Even if we have very different cultures, languages, customs or religions, we may do some voluntary work together.

In your website you speak about 'spiritual' values. Doesn't that mean World Welfare Mission is a religious organization?

No, it is not a religious organization. By 'spiritual values' we mean universal human values like friendship, generosity, compassion, gratitude , care for the environment and service to humanity - values respected by all nationalities and traditions. In fact, one of our goals is to promote spiritual values, regardless of the religious, cultural or social background of people who participate, respecting and not questioning any religion our
members may practice.

How do the finances work? You charge fees for some of your programs, like the 'Sahaj Krishna Yog-The Art of Joyful Living'! Course and others are sponsored by the organisation?

Part of the financing of our humanitarian efforts come from charitable donations – just like more traditional charities. On the other hand, we also run paid courses like 'Sahaj Krishna Yog-The Art of Joyful Living' for adults. They may have good jobs, may not be suffering from poverty, but may still want to move forward on the spiritual path and learn techniques to be free from stress and negative emotions. The proceeds from our paid courses are used for our humanitarian programs. After all, everyone encounters challenges in their life, whether rich or poor. As every executive knows, stress management is a key even for the most successful!

What is the profile of the organization? Is the organization a charity? A training organization?

It is both. We do provide a range of training courses as well as engage in small and large-scale charitable ventures. In fact, these apparently diverse activities are closely linked: income from paid courses goes to humanitarian activities to achieve our basic goals of a stress-free society and bringing people from diverse backgrounds together in voluntary activity and meditation. There is another connection between service activities and personal development courses. Many of those who complete our courses take up voluntary work of various kinds, seeing that to realize one's full potential we need to take care of our society, our environment. For completion of our regular programs, we have a special program, the goal of which is to make the individual stronger; thus able to take more responsibility – at work, in the family and in the society. Our youth programs - for children, teens and students/young professionals, encourage the young to engage in voluntary activities. The programme drawn up by the founder Swami Krishna Deo includes the 'right to lead a stress-free life' - regardless of whether the stress is induced by a natural disaster, or by a difficult job, or by family situations. The stress-releasing techniques learnt in our programs are powerful enough to deal with the trauma involved
in extreme situations of natural disasters, so definitely they can handle the everyday challenges of work and relationships! Sometimes stress results from a natural disaster, sometimes it is man-made, sometimes it is poverty-related, and sometimes even wealthy and successful people experience stress – but in every case, We offer support.

You are a charitable organization – so why do you charge fees for your courses?

We do indeed charge fees for our courses from privileged people and conduct free programmes/activities in underprivileged area. The income from these paid courses is then used for those programs that are aimed at community development in impoverished areas and the free schools/education centre that the organization runs, among others. We also find that people get so much out of the courses – learning how to handle negative
emotions, calmly taking on greater challenges in life – that they are happy that their course fees are helping to educate a poor child, or put a roof over a family's head. After all, charity cannot happen from an empty bowl. However, if you are a retired person or unemployed, check with our organization to find out about scholarships for our courses through email: worldwelfaremission@gmail.com