Many people take religious vows where they promise God various things if He fulfills a certain need. Is this a good practice? What happens if people do not fulfil this vow?

Shri Shri Nimishananda's reply:-
If your Will Power (Iccha Shakthi ) is weak, then you take religious vows. The person who takes such a vow is usually ignorant about the nature of God. They do not realise that God is ever-bountiful and is constantly pouring forth His Grace to all of us without expecting anything in return. Since God is compassionate and accepts any relationship on the terms set by the devotee, He grants the prayers that accompany a religious vow. But this kind of relationship with God generates Karma (Good Karma) which binds us and we have to reap these good fruits.

If we forget to fulfill this vow, usually all kinds of troubles begin in life and we go to consult somebody about resolving them. God uses that person as a mouthpiece to remind us that this religious vow has not been fulfilled by us.

It’s easy for us to understand this if we look at an example. If our child does not come home from school on time, we go in search of the child. We wish to protect the child from harm. Likewise, if we forget to fulfill our religious vow, God Himself comes to remind us about our obligation. He does not want anything from us but He wishes to protect us from the negative Karma that would accrue if we forget to fulfill our promise.

Remember God is of infinitely magnanimous nature and therefore we should avoid taking religious vows.