Does God really punish

[rv2789]

Does God really punishes or take revenge from humans? For eg- If someone asked something from God and took a vow that if he gets that thing, he will offer something to God. He gets that thing but he did not fulfil his vow to God. Now..will God punish really him or take revenge to him?

[timetraveler]

Namaste,

Interesting and good question.

Generally all beings have to follow their karma. The answer is usually given, even if one is a saint - one still follows karma.

I.e., a good action will produce a good result, and likewise for harmful actions.

However, God is the most forgiving . Ananta Bhava . . .

SacChidAnanda, is God's nature. Blissful.

Prem or love, is inherent in all...

Sathya Sai's discourses are illuminating on the matter.

(https://www.sathyasai.org/discour/2005/titles2005.html)

Sri Swamiji once said, if you want to have God's energy, you have to think of God 24 hours a day. To have God's blessings fully and completely, you have to think of God always, and then you will.

And so this means being very awake

And peaceful, deeply meditating.

And active, walking and chanting.

This brings quickest progress..

Pranam

[rv2789]

Hi,
What will he the punishment for this scenario- If someone asked something from God and took a vow that if he gets that thing, he will offer something to God. He gets that thing but he did not fulfil his vow to God. What punishment will he get or what karma punishment will he has to face?

[timetraveler]

Namaste,

The overall karma of the person would have to be foremost. And also, what were their intentions, and so forth.

But let's look at the process. Normally, in almost all cases, almost always, the sacrifice is done before someone asks God for something.

I'm doing a very poor job of expressing ...

Let me jus let give some points:

Whatever we get we should use for God.

Asking, praying is really using your own energy, to try to affect the world.

The most important thing is devoting ourselves to God, and when we do that, all good things happen.

Of all things, in the whole universe, nothing satisfies the soul (we ourselves) as much as God's love.

It is not wrong to ask for love and devotion.

Purity, health, strength,. . . Wisdom ...

All of these are good, and this itself is a meritorious prayer.

Pranam.

[timetraveler]

Namaste,

I would say this as well; nothing God gives comes with strings attached. If we make a vow to complete some austerity or mantras, that's a separate issue, even if we have them connected in our mind.

If you do break a vow of that kind, it isn't helpful to feel despair over it - simply begin from there.

Dattatreya comes immediately, when we think of him. In the Datta Stavam it describes this.

Now there is a further thought. -- when we think of God, even for a moment, this is a very good thing.

I.e., the act of asking requires some meditation, and this itself is meritorious, it gives benefit. Nama Smarana -- remembering God's name -- is the path and the goal.

It's all to get to get to the point, when we have perfect remembrance of God. This simple goal has an entire system around it. -- Yoga, meditation, and all of the practices lead to it.

Nama Smarana is basically the most important thing, but all the system of yoga is there to enable it to grow. Divya Nama Sankirtana, Yoga, even giving to those who need it.

Everything done in goodness helps. Annadana, which means giving food -- is a very important and good activity.

Sri Ramana Maharishi for instance always practiced this completely. When someone, anyone, visited His ashrama, the very first thing before anything was to give prasad (food first offered to God), and this was the most important and first thing.

So it's good to practice in the home and outside.

[rv2789]

Sir I still did not get the answer of this scenario- If someone asked something from God and took a vow that if he gets that thing, he will offer something to God. He gets that thing but he did not fulfil his vow to God. What punishment will he get or what karma punishment will he has to face?

[ameyAtmA]

Does God really punishes or take revenge from humans? For eg- If someone asked something from God and took a vow that if he gets that thing, he will offer something to God. He gets that thing but he did not fulfil his vow to God. Now..will God punish really him or take revenge to him?

Namaste

There is no rule that fits each situation, however, if a person did participate in a kAmya-worship (to gain something specific in the world), making a vrat, vow, then forgetting the vow is ingratitude and indifference to the Parameshwar or the Deity.

However, it is never too late to accept the mistake and express this to Him sincerely. Then, always remember Him going forward.

Why not communicate openly with Parameshwar? If someone said they will do something, and forgot, but have remembered now, and for some reason cannot keep the promise they made in the first place, what they can do is show there sincerity towards Him, that they are aware of what happened (perhaps years ago) , and are willing to rectify that now.

If what was promised is not possible, then approaching Bhagvan with humility saying I was wrong, I overestimated myself, I should not have promised something I cannot do.... and that is the best beginning of sincere bhakti towards ParaBrahman, Parameshwar, BhagavAn -- resulting in detachment from world or reducing attachment.


Satyanarayan Katha says Kalavati (who was attending the SatyanArAyaN puja) ran out to receive her husband when the ship arrived after a long journey, without taking the prasAd and this is showing indifference or disrespect for SatyaNarayan who is taking such care of the beings on earth. Ignoring divine prasad or undermining its divinity is ingratitude. She did see a consequence of that but as soon as she realized her mistake it was forgiven.

Kalavati's father made a vow that he will do a Satyanarayan Puja if they have a child. He had a daughter, became a prosperous merchant and forgot Bhagvan altogether. He saw some consequence. It was only when he was in deep trouble, life was stuck , that he / or his wife remembered that they had forgotten all about the vow. So they performed the puja, and the father was freed from the problem.
Long-term effect of this was that the family realized the importance of gratitude to ParaBrahman' , for which you have to first be aware of His presence and His compassion.


Now regarding prasad you may say -- I am allergic to ingredient X in prasAd - you can still honour it by taking a dot-grain , touching your head etc.


So the bottom line is open communication with ParamAtmA, gratitude and devotion as others have mentioned above. Although a consequence may appear as punishment in the short term, it is actually for the individual's long-term good - setting them on the path of bhakti. Shift of Focus. (purpose of SatyanarayaN katha is not to scare us).

If a person is a devotee, the intimate bhakta-bhagvAn relationship is like child-parent when it comes to consequence. In fact, BhagvAn protects devotee from making wrong decisions or from sorrow. He looks out for the devotee just as a mother will look out for the stumbling 3-year old.

----
*[Para]Brahman, ParamAtmA, BhagvAn, Parameshwar are referring to God in Hindu Dharma.

[rv2789]

Thanks for all the replies. I have one more doubt in my mind..Pls clear this

If a person prayed to God for something and vowed to do something in return if his wish gets fulfilled, can he fulfill his vow to God in advance, before his wish gets granted? Will God accept that vow which was completed in advance before his wish gets granted?

Also, if the person's prayer gets answered in future, do he has to fulfil his vow again?

[ameyAtmA]

If a person prayed to God for something and vowed to do something in return if his wish gets fulfilled, can he fulfill his vow to God in advance, before his wish gets granted? Will God accept that vow which was completed in advance before his wish gets granted?

Why not? That is even better, at least it makes the gesture an act of devotion or eagerness to please God, rather than a transaction.

Also, if the person's prayer gets answered in future, do he has to fulfil his vow again?

I don't think so, but depends on what they promised to do.
If the vow was : I will read the entire Bhagvat PurAN or RamayaN in X days.
Performing the vow again does not hurt at all.
If on the other hand -- the vow was "I will climb up to VaishNo Devi / Kedarnath and perform a puja there" if you did it in advance it shows trust and devotion, but if going there is not very easy ... you have already done it once.

However, for a bhakta -- it is not about accounting.

The more you do an act of bhajan, the more you want to do it out of love for Parameshwar (God). Some make trips every year, some do a pArAyaN sankalpa again and again - or anushThan or japa ... etc. Now it is in the category of nishkaam bhajan (bhakti), and not navas (vow if-then).

On the flip side -- if a person takes a difficult task upon themselves which causes a lot of distress, hurting the body , that is tAmasic (in the mode of ignorance), and God does not like that. It is like blackmailing God to give in to a whim.

*TERMS:
pArAyaN = formal reading or reciting of a religious or sacred scriptural text - to completion.
sankalpa = determination, resolution one makes by themselves or on their own
anushThaan = resolution to chant a Y-syllabled mantra X times , following some rules of austerity such as eating fruits, sleeping on floor, bramhacharya - abide in brahman' , keep solitude etc.

[rv2789]

Will God be not angry on that person? Because he took the vow that he will fulfil his vow if his prayer gets answered, but later he fulfiled his vow in advance only, before his wish gets granted?