The power of middle class

Mahatma Gandhi mentions in his autobiography that the middle class in India has the power to change the tides and they can easily follow the diet and suggestions that he was making in the book. Gandhiji’s diet suggestions and other suggestions to live a healthy and devotional life could look stringent to many but can be easily followed especially the middle class. He says that the rich are too indulged in their senses and hence they cannot follow the lifestyle suggested by him. And the poor live hand to mouth and always worry if they can live and get by another day. So even poor cannot be expected to follow his advise. But middle class has decent means and they can be persuaded to live a healthy and spiritual life.

 

I see this in many other ways too. Today the rich class is very oblivious to the plight of the poor and have no clue what worries the poor on a daily basis, what troubles their mind, what problems they want to see solved on priority. And the gap between the rich and poor is increasing annually with the poor having no idea what goes in within the castles of the rich. It is only the middle class who might have a fair idea of what the poor class goes through. And the middle class also has an inclination to what it means to be rich because today the middle class aspires to be rich soon. But it is this power of middle class to be in-between that can be an advantage to them. They could try to live a more healthier and spiritual life than trying to advance materially whole year. They are already devotional and  can additionally try to  control their senses and observe fast once a week or twice a month. They can teach their kids what is more important in life and not to forget the society at large if they ever become rich. Good habits formed while living in the middle class stage can be followed through when they become rich. Compared to the poor, the middle class are at a better position to use their intellectual faculty for the benefit of their neighbors and society. They can be more alert to the workings of the government and can raise important points to them. We often see that the poor are more emotional, hence the middle class can  bring their logical mind to the systems of the society.

 

But all these expectations from the middle class go unfulfilled because,  most importantly, today, they are in a continuous rat race trying to outdo one another to reach the top. They hate their middle class position and want to exit this stage and reach the higher class.  If citizens from middle class realize that they should work together as a whole like poor do, they can bring important change in the society.