Thanks I had not heard of that book though I had heard of that case as it was famous in India for a brief moment. There are loads of Westerners who used to go to India seeking enlightenment and there are many snake oil salesmen there to sell it to them. I think the Beatles really popularized that trend?

But I just looked at the goodreads and also from what I remember, this was just a guy who went backpacking and never was heard from again right? Unfortunately such things happen, even to very experienced people. I live near a touristy region in the mountains and people go missing like once a week here, usually they are rescued. Didn't know this guy had some "Indian syndrome" thing. Though yes that's a real thing and you will meet people all time who say things like "India is just more spiritual" or whatever.