As I tag along – always behind, no matter how fast I move my legs – I wonder if I’m actually following a 20-year-old boy. His gait is effortless, a skip in his step, jogging here and there up some of the slopes.

 

Most impressive, there is a compassionate contentment that hangs in all of his words. Twenty minutes into our day-long hike and Gnanasekaran has already shared enough positive insights to fill an inspirational quote book.

 

He talks about mankind: “I tell people, we are all of the same family, of the same color and of the same creed. To deny that is ignorance. To believe it is faith. To know it is knowledge, but to have experience is divine.”

 

Living a balanced, harmonious life: “Anything overly done is poison. … Like a blade of the fan, when all three turn in unison in the same direction properly, then we get the air. If one starts in the other direction, then it doesn’t work.”

 

Capitalism: “I’m into profit, but my profit definition is: Anyone who comes to me, I want to maximize their profit, not mine. Maximize their profit, yours will automatically be taken care of. Don’t worry about yours. So I’m that kind of capitalist.”

 

Growth: “Use your strengths that are easier for you to assist and improve in your weaknesses. Don’t pamper the weakness. If you do, you’ll never get out of it.”

 

And something I already recognize as foreshadowing: “Everything has limits. You have to keep that in mind when you do things. You know, sometimes we don’t know what the limit is. That’s when we have to exercise caution.”