Feb 6 1976 conversations
Tamāla Kṛṣṇa: What is the way to draw the line between the following three things: blasphemy, fault-finding, and calling a spade a spade?
Prabhupāda: A spade a spade... Just like I am saying that "What you are? You are small fig only." That is reality. And what is the other?
Tamāla Kṛṣṇa: The other is fault-finding and...
Prabhupāda: Fault-finding, that is another fault, that... vraṇam icchanti, makṣikā vraṇam icchanti, madhum icchanti(?) Just like the flies, they are finding out where is sore, and the bees, they are finding out where there is honey. So two animals, they have got two business: fault-finding and collecting the good things. These are two... Just like creature. They are two classes. Similarly, there are many rascals who are simply fault-finding.
Tamāla Kṛṣṇa: And blasphemy?
Prabhupāda: Blasphemy means you have good qualities, but still, I am defaming you.
Tamāla Kṛṣṇa: So the saintly person tends to overlook the bad qualities and see the good ones.
Prabhupāda: Yes.
Tamāla Kṛṣṇa: Like Kṛṣṇa's dealing with Pūtanā.
Prabhupāda: Yes. Hundreds and thousands of miles, this fog, simply by two minutes' light of the sun—finished. [break] ...working. If there was no sun, then so many ships are standing on the ocean. The cars, they are "bong, bong, bong, bong," so many disturbances. You see? You cannot do anything. Daivī hy eṣā guṇamayī [Bg. 7.14]. What you can do? Immediately He can kill you all. Thousands of planets immediately finished. Bring your science to protect them. No, not possible. Māre kṛṣṇa rākhe ke. When Kṛṣṇa desires to vanquish, nobody can save you. Finished. Still, these rascals say, "There is no God." Simply rascals. At least expose these rascals. We have no power to kill them, but at least we can expose them. That is also great service.
Some Conclusions-Srila Prabhupada nicely explains the difference between blasphemy fault finding and calling a spade a spade. But the best part was as the end- where he says since we cant kill all the demons and rascals in this age at least we can expose them. And that is what we should try to do which he says is-- a “great service”. We do not want to become faultfinders or blasphemers because that is offensive to pure chanting the Lords Holy names, but we do want to expose all those who say they are bona fide gurus, and so called leaders, but do not follow the Acaryas orders to become such.
Hare Krsna
Damaghosa das