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Bandaranaike. There we were shown
into a very large living room, leading
to a beautiful garden outside, at the
rear of the residence. There we were
introduced to the Prime Minister, a
gracious and attractive lady, dressed in
traditional Ce}rlonese robes.
J
presented her with an American
work of art, a beautiful object of Steu–
ben crystal, which she accepted on
behalf of her people. I mentiooed, as
1 shook hands with her, that now 1
had met all three of the women
Prime Ministers in the world. The
other two are Mrs. Gandhi of India,
and Mrs. Meir of Israel.
1 mentioned that at luncheon at the
hotel that day, I had asked the
members of our party, including sorne
of the crew, if they could tell me how
many women Prime Ministers there
are in the world. No one was sure, but
one pilot guessed three.
So that our readers may know better
what I say to heads of state in these
meetiogs, 1 will here report more than
T
usually do in reporting on such high
leve! meetings.
Mes. Bandaranaike asked me to tell
her about Ambassador College and our
worldwide program of education. 1
described our three campuses, the char–
acter of our students, how upwards of
50% are transfers from many big–
name uoiversities from all over the
world, how we have no protests or vio–
Jence, and about our extension program
worldwide- our publications, broad–
casts and telecasts.
Tea and pastries were served, and
she continued to ask questions. She
was quite interested in what 1 had to
say about the world situation, the real
CAUSE of the world's mounting evils,
and the only WAY that can ever be the
CAUSE of world peace.
I mentioned the fact that we simply
don't have much time to find that way
- unless there is supernatural inter–
vention - when any one of severa!
heads of state could, in a rash moment
in a heated crisis, plunge the world
into the NUCLEAR World War
III
that
could erase aH human life from the
earth. 1 meotioned how even the most
PLAIN TRUTH June 1972
unselfish public-minded statesmen have
been helpless to resolve the major
problems facing mankind today -
and 1 told her how fortunate I felt,
in my position, not to be burdened
with the immense and complicated
política! problems of world statesmen,
held in the clutch of this world's sys–
tem- but how 1 am free to talk with
statesmen about their problems, and to
tell the millions in all nations TIIE
WAY that can, and will, bring us
world peace. 1 said that, if I were in
President Nixon's place in the White
House, I felt sure I could do no better
than he- for 1 would be hamstrung
in the web of this world's system. I
told her I felt 1 could never accomplish
as much, with my hands on the throttle
of great political power, as 1 am free
to do where I am.
I told her of our 6 to 8 million read–
ers of
The
PLAIN TRUTH, in Jive lan–
guages, on all continents, and our
privilege of reaching many more mil–
lions with the TRUTH, worldwide. As
she kept asking questions, I explained
how my travel time is utilized- writ–
ing while flying in our plane, writing
in hotels, making radio broadcasts,
visiting people, meeting world leaders,
studying local conditions all over the
wodd- and the only "sightseeing"
1 had time or inclination for is what
is required to gain an intelligent feel
for the peoples and their environments
around the world.
I mentioned thc book I aro presently
writing on a parallcl to
H.
G. Well's
011tline of History,
including a section
on the difference between animal brain
and human mind - and the basis for
that wide gulf betwecn the two. These
subjects intercsted her very much, and
she requested a copy when it is pub–
lished.
I also had opportunity to explain the
two broad ways of life, which 1 sim–
plify as the
"GET"
way and the
"GrvE"
way.
The Prime Minister said she hoped
l would be able to make sorne contri–
bution to the development of her
country, in a manner consistent with
our activities.
I asked thc Prime Minister her im–
pressions concerning President Nixon's
visit to Red China. She said she felt
that tensions had relaxed in the Far
East and Southeastern Asia as a result.
She mentioned how she, herself, had
helped bring about the end of the
confl ict bewteen India and China in
1962.
Then I asked her about the
India-Pakistan conflict. She said she
regretted very much that hosrilities had
broken out, because war is not the
way to settle complicated problems
between nations. And of course any
conAict so close to Ceylon is a threat
to Ceylonese security.
I asked her whether she thought
India was being drawn into the Rus–
sian Communist orbit.
She smiled. "We are watching," she
replied.
She then explained how Ceylon is
politically independent, but
no/
eco–
nomically independent. She discussed
the irnmense problems of trade, unem–
ployment, lack of sufficient exports, bad
export prices in a buyers' market -
alt the great problems confronting a
developing nation with its needs for
capital, technological know-how, and
time.
She talked of the great problems of
revamping the educational system in
Ceylon to better train people for
technological and agricultura! produc–
tion. She lamented that they have the
same problem 1 have found almost
everywhere
too many students going
to the university, too few jobs for the
graduates, and no feeling for the
"dignity of work."
Then she told us of the terrible in–
surrection of April last year. The
government, she said, "escaped by the
skin of its teeth." This insurrection
was an armed revolt of the nation's
youth. All classes participated from
ages
14
through 25. They were seek–
ing power - a take-over of the
government by kids too young to
know how to handle such power. They
were well organized. The government
was caught unprepared and under–
equipped. Fifteen hundred people were
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