Five Complaints About Kids Today

By krishnasmercy on September 8, 2025 • ( 0 )

“Shri Hari, who is the Lord of the demigods, who is worshiped by the people of the world, for benefiting the moving and nonmoving beings of the world took that dreadful form through His own energy and tore apart Hiranyakashipu, who caused suffering to so many, with His nails.” (Narasimha Purana, 44.43)

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हरिः सुरेशो नरलोकपूजितो हिताय लोकस्य चराचरस्य
कृत्वा विरूपं च पुरात्ममायया हिरण्यकं दुःखकरं नखैश् छिनत्

hariḥ sureśo naralokapūjito hitāya lokasya carācarasya
kṛtvā virūpaṃ ca purātmamāyayā hiraṇyakaṃ duḥkhakaraṃ nakhaiś chinat

1. Never have to wait

“Two-day shipping. One-day shipping. Maybe even get it as soon as tonight, if you hurry. Make sure to add enough qualifying items in your shopping cart, such that you meet the minimum spend threshold. An entire viewing library right at your fingertips. No need to pop a disc into a player and navigate the menu. No need to visit a brick-and-mortar store, browsing the aisles, sidestepping patrons to search for something to watch later tonight.

“These kids today will never know. They never have to wait for anything. No wonder they lack patience. They cannot sit still. How can you expect them to? They have never learned the value of building anticipation. Good things come to those who wait, is the saying. Everything that arrives so easily for them, they will think is cheap and easy to produce. Not a good way to go through life, if you ask me.”

2. Never have to go anywhere they don’t want

“Oh my goodness, it was like every weekend. It was bad enough sitting in that prison facility they called school. At least give us a rest on the weekends. We didn’t have much. One black-and-white television in one of the bedrooms. The viewing content was limited to whatever was broadcast by the over-the-air networks. No remote control. No recording device. We were fine. We were happy.

“Except our parents took away that happiness by dragging us to different places. The homes of their friends. The never-ending parties. We could not complain. We could not decline the invitation. We had to go. Do you have any idea how awkward it is to sit there, in a room full of strangers, with nothing to do but stare at the clock? These kids today will never know. As soon as they bark disapproval, the parents listen. The children never have to sacrifice for the adults; it is always the other way around.”

3. Never have to suffer

“Is it me or does it seem that parenting has been flipped upside down today? The children run the show. The parents have to scramble to look for ways to pass the time in a constructive manner. Otherwise, the kids will be glued to the phones. It wouldn’t be so bad if all they were doing was playing games. It wouldn’t be so bad if they were only watching television shows and movies. But no, instead, their brains are rotting from these short-form videos, that play on repeat. The videos are mindless and destroy any last bit of patience a child might have.

“Our parents made us suffer. It seems that the suffering was constant. We did not have our own bedroom. There was no privacy. There was perhaps one television in the home that everyone had to share. Things turned out okay. Today’s kids will never know. They make others suffer. As soon as they complain, everything stops. The parents run here and there to address the issue.”

4. Never have to show respect

“Oh my goodness, meeting relatives was the worst. I am aware that our culture only exacerbated the problem. We always had to show respect by touching feet. You touch the feet of the elder when you meet them and when they depart. If you fail to do so just one time, you will get dragged over the coals. Embarrassed in front of everyone for your stunning display of disrespect.

“Sometimes, the people you had to respect were actually younger than you. Think about that! Your mom’s youngest cousin, for instance. They are actually your uncle. You have to touch their feet, too. I know what you are thinking. You might as well play it safe and touch everyone’s feet. You are sorely mistaken, my friend. If you happen to touch the feet of a subordinate or a junior, or heaven forbid one of the hired help, everyone will make fun of you. You will never live it down.

“Today’s kids will never know. They don’t have to respect anyone. That expectation is long gone. They can stay in their room when guests come over. They can continue to play. No one will bother them. They run the show, after all.”

5. Never have to limit

“I felt like there was a virtual timer that started as soon as I turned on the television. I just knew that after a certain number of hours my mom would come into the room and start yelling. We had done nothing wrong. It was a weekend. We were up to date on studies. There was no homework that needed to be done. But she just did not like the excess. She did not approve us doing one thing for hours at a time.

“Today’s kids will never know. The parents have to be rational. They cannot suddenly go off and start yelling. That will cause trauma, you see, and the last thing we want to do is frighten the children. What will the adult friends of the parents say? A few stern warnings and the kids will go off recording a video for social media, complaining about the tyrannical rule of their parents.

“The children are coddled, and I don’t think this is in their best interest. How will they cope with the horrors of the real world, which surface immediately upon entering adult life? If they never knew struggle growing up, how will they handle issues when the parents aren’t there to rescue them?”

…

Shri Krishna explains that the living beings in the material world are struggling. Those living beings are jiva. This refers to the potential vulnerability to conditioned life. The jiva can choose. They can opt for the association of the Supreme Lord, in the spiritual world. They can also choose to go it alone, to see if they can rise to the heights of prominence and influence, such that they might enjoy the perks of that high stature.

ममैवांशो जीवलोके जीवभूतः सनातनः
मनःषष्ठानीन्द्रियाणि प्रकृतिस्थानि कर्षति

mamaivāṃśo jīvaloke jīvabhūtaḥ sanātanaḥ
manaḥṣaṣṭhānīndriyāṇi prakṛtisthāni karṣati

“The living entities in this conditioned world are My eternal, fragmental parts. Due to conditioned life, they are struggling very hard with the six senses, which include the mind.” (Lord Krishna, Bhagavad-gita, 15.7)

It is this latter choice which immediately invites the struggle. Whether they grow up with all comforts provided by attentive and loving parents or they are completely ignored and isolated. Whether they have the patience to tolerate adversity or they start complaining and screaming as soon as there is the slightest difficulty. Whether they are well-adjusted to the world around them or are completely confused on how to proceed.

The struggle is due to the six senses. The first five are easy to identify and relatively well-known. Seeing, hearing, touching, smelling, and tasting. The sixth sense in this case is the mind. Consider how someone can be full of hate, paranoia, fear, and agitation despite having everything going for them. This was the case with the infamous leader of the Daityas named Hiranyakashipu.

स इत्थं निर्जितककुबेकराड् विषयान् प्रियान्
यथोपजोषं भुञ्जानो नातृप्यदजितेन्द्रिय:

sa itthaṁ nirjita-kakub
eka-rāḍ viṣayān priyān
yathopajoṣaṁ bhuñjāno
nātṛpyad ajitendriyaḥ

“In spite of achieving the power to control in all directions and in spite of enjoying all types of dear sense gratification as much as possible, Hiranyakashipu was dissatisfied because instead of controlling his senses he remained their servant.” (Shrimad Bhagavatam, 7.4.19)

The Sanskrit term is ajitendriyah. We take the senses, indriya, and identify a condition based on the interaction with those senses. The indriya essentially emerge victorious. The jiva individual has lost in the battle to fight the urges of the senses. The defeat can take place when signs should point in the other direction. If everything that an individual would typically struggle with is absent, the senses can still take hold.

The solution for the struggle is to choose appropriately. Revisit the original choice and reverse the decision. The other option is always available. In this way, the eternally bound individual, nitya-baddha, can change their condition at any time. They are not forever condemned to suffering. The Supreme Lord travels with the conditioned soul. He never leaves their side. The proper choice does not require extensive travel or searching out a distant place. Rather, the jiva can change their conditioned state as easily as looking within, to recognize their constant companion, who is like a witnessing bird seated on a tree.

“The Vedas, like the Mundaka Upanishad, as well as the Shvetashvatara Upanishad, compare the soul and the Supersoul to two friendly birds sitting on the same tree. One of the birds (the individual atomic soul) is eating the fruit of the tree, and the other bird (Krishna) is simply watching His friend. Of these two birds—although they are the same in quality—one is captivated by the fruits of the material tree, while the other is simply witnessing the activities of His friend. Krishna is the witnessing bird, and Arjuna is the eating bird.” (Shrila Prabhupada, Bhagavad-gita, 2.22 Purport)

While Hiranyakashipu was ajitendriyah, his five-year old son was in the liberated state. Prahlada Maharaja was not struggling with the six senses. Though the father considered the child to be no good and a snake with the potential to ruin the entire family, Prahlada was well-adjusted. He could handle adversity. He could keep calm in times of trouble. His strength was the connection to Vishnu. Prahlada tried to cure the condition in the father through recommending the same connection. The father continued to refuse, until one day that connection was forced upon him in the form of dreadful death, administered by the amazing avatara known as Narasimha.