A section of RW, in its pathological hatred for Brahmins, often comes up with a rhetorical question i.e. "Why are Brahmins engaging in modern jobs and not living on alms?"

To answer that I will narrate a story, in early 19th century Missionaries were very active in India, just the way they are today, with the support of East India Company.

Most prominent of them was John Muir, a scholar well versed in Sanskrit, who believed that he can defeat Brahmins in shāstrārtha and therefore gaining a substantial number of converts. Muir, “urging missionaries to learn Sanskrit in order to ‘combat… hydra-headed paganism’.”

He wrote a text called 'MataparīkShā'. He laid down three criteria for characterising a true scripture: the founder’s power to work miracles, source in the one True God, and universality, that is, equal validity for every race.

He faced no trouble in “proving” that the Christian scripture alone was true in terms of these criteria, while Hindu Shastras were false. He asserted miracles in Hindu Shastras were “merely ornamental in that religion instead of being at its very centre as in Christianity.”

This way of arguing is pompously called Evidential Apologetics in Christian theology.

Then he went on to question cosmography of Puraņās and concluded then to be erroneous. He challenged the Brahmins to try and present a counter to his work.

One of the Brahmin who accepted the challenge was Harachandra Tarkapañchānana. The MataparIkshottara of Harachandra was published in Calcutta but before Muir brought out the second and bulkier edition of his MataparIkshA.

Harachandra was a poor Bengali Brahmana about whom nothing is known except the authorship of this book. The book itself was a short treatise of only 137 Sanskrit verses in Bengali script with a two-page Preface in English.

He was, however, prepared to write more if Muir agreed to “bear the cost of printing and remunerated him for his labours.”

Harachandra was familiar with the debunking of Christianity at the hands of Western scholars: “Since many fearless, intelligent men such as Hume, Tom Paine, the great Voltaire, Palmer and Gibbon, confuted these priests, the priestly classes, answerless, called them infidels.”

Pointing to the rise of successive Christian sects, he asked, “How could that religion, the religious customs of which would constantly change, deserve respect from intelligent men endowed with reasoning?”

He added sarcastically, “As the world-creator was powerless at the time of creation to establish religious customs, he (taking) the form of Christ established them afterwards: when Christ died, the world-creator (assuming) the form of Pope and others established them.”

Being devoid of substance, Christianity has always depended upon force and fraud: “Formerly a certain king, named Constantine. This deluded king stupidly converted to Christianity and strove to propagate this worthless religion by fraud, distributing wealth, craft and force.

He made citizens everywhere in his realm convert to that religion. From that time until now, its propagation comes by nothing other than royal decree. Men don’t convert to it by their own will.”

Finally, Harachandra presented the ten tenets of Sanatana Dharma, from Manusmriti:

constancy (dhriti), forgiveness (kshamA), self-control (dama), non-stealing (asteya), purity (Saucha), restraint of senses (indriyanigraha), devout thought (dhI), knowledge (vidyA), truth (satyam) and absence of anger (akrodha).

He invited Christian to practise these dharmas. They will be born as Hindus in their next life.

Christian find it difficult to forgive him even today, calling “tactless and pugilistic.” Classical case of seeing the mote in the other man’s eye while missing the beam in one’s own.

Brahmins while living in extreme poverty continued to fight for Dharma, whether anyone supported them or not. Smritis have clearly elucidated that in times of crisis to prevent a collapse of moral order, Brahmins must take up the responsibility of other varnas.

Post industrial revolution age is that time of crisis, therefore, Brahmins must acquire all resource possible in order to establish Dharma.

Next time someone tells you (Brahmin) to go back to living on alms tell him that you will but only after destroying the Age of Kali.

Practice both Swadharma and Āpāddharma.

The excerpt of Harachandra is from Sita Ram Goel's History of Hindu Christian Encounters: AD 304 to 1996.