On A Quest 2014

On A Quest captures Balakrishnan Menon a child born into a wealthy family in Kerala. As a charming young lad, he spent his days in pursuit of law and literature. He later joined the "Quit India" movement, writing and distributing leaflets to stir up national pride. The story takes a turn when a warrant is issued for Balan's arrest and he is out to escape. He takes cover at the British Intelligence Agency and lives like one among them. But Alas! He is caught in their hands and later imprisoned under unhygienic conditions where sickness was extremely rampant. Seeing Balan's weak condition and fearful of anymore impending prison deaths, the British officers decide to take Balan out of prison and leave him on the roadside to die.Propitiously, Balan is found by a stranger and nurtured back to health. Having another go at life, Balan decides to venture into journalism under the pen name "Mochi" where he put forth his views on the imperative socialism in a society where the vast majority of people were poor. He secures a job at the National Herald and decides to write an exposé on what he believed to be the bluff of swamis in the Himalayan region. However, Balan's journey to expose others ended up in exposing himself to his own spiritual evolution.A striking inner transformation unfolds when he visits Swami Sivananda in Rishikesh. Swami Sivananda's life and teachings overwhelmed the young skeptic who persistently questioned him throughout. Balan was later initiated to sannyasa with the name 'Swami Chinmayananda Saraswati'. He then studied under the tutelage of Swami Tapovanam, the most renowned Vedanta master of the time. As Swami Tapovanam's disciple, Swami Chinmayananda led an austere life and underwent an intense study of Vedantic texts.