The son of some family friends decided one day to suddenly give up his life and devote 100% of it to some guru in India. He was moderately religious christian, as most are here in Norway, and I'd spent a lot of time with him as we were of similar age and our families met regularly through our childhood. As such I knew him as quite bright and well informed.
Suddenly he was devoting all his time to studying rites and rituals, almost cutting out contact with is family, and taking up extra jobs so he could send money to this guru.
My dad met this guru once when he visited here in Norway. My dad said he spent way more time talking about the stock market than anything spiritual.
Yet to this day, a couple of decades later, their son is still laboring hard for this guy.
I did get to speak to him a few times after he had converted. For me this whole thing was utterly bewildering.
Looking back at us growing up, I suppose what he was seeking was somewhere to belong. It wasn't about this or that religion specifically, that seemed almost incidental, looking in from the outside.
His life had gotten a new meaning: follow these rites and rituals, and do whatever this guy says. In return he got a sense of belonging.
Still really weird to me, and still very hard for his parents. But their son willingly and with open eyes embraced this.
I've reflected on this several times, and my conclusion is that some people just want to believe, so they can belong.