Mr. Robert Muller

Mr Robert Muller, Director and Deputy to the Under-Secretary-General for Special Political Affairs and Coordination, treasures unforgettable memories of U Thant. A true seeker endowed with inner wisdom-light, he was deeply connected with U Thant and served the Secretary-General with true dedication. Here he tells us that it was U Thant’s spirituality-sea that brought him closer to the Secretary-General: “It was spirituality that brought me closest to the beautiful soul of U Thant. I had learned of the importance of religion in his life through the book U Thant, the Search for Peace by June Bingham. A neighbour of U Thant, she had written his biography on the basis of interviews while she rode with him from Riverdale to mid-Manhattan. I made a special effort to acquaint myself with Buddhism. After U Thant discovered that I was not the dry, pragmatic, Western economist he first thought I was, but that I had an inclination for humanism and spirituality, he became both a teacher and a second father to me. He would have long conversations with me after office hours. One evening I remember telling him that he had made me aware again that simplicity and kindness were the highest values a man could aim at and that he reminded me greatly of my father, who had always taught me that love and honesty were qualities far superior to intelligence.”