Why Do Rabbis Discourage Conversions?

Question:
I am a bit confused. I have many Jewish friends, but they are mostly indifferent, and sometimes even hostile, towards their own religion.

I myself am not Jewish, but I have studied Judaism, and love it; and am very excited about converting.

My confusion is this: when I went to speak to a Rabbi about conversion, he discouraged me from converting, saying, that it is more serious than I think; and that I can live a fulfilled life, without becoming Jewish.

I told him, how excited I am about Judaism, but he still discouraged me.

I am thirsty for Judaism and I am being discouraged, while so many Jews, are not even open to learning more, about their own religion!
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Answer:
There is a Jewish belief, that Judaism is not just good for the Jewish soul, it's natural for the Jewish soul.

The soul feels at home, when it says Hebrew prayers, experiences a Shabbat table, or puts up a Mezuzah. These actsm are what makes the Jewish soul comfortable. A Jew has an innate affinitym towards Judaism.
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So why do so many Jews, seem not interested in their religion? Because there is another Jewish belief, that every energy, has a counter-energy, (matter and anti-matter).

If the Jewish soul is attracted to Judaism, there must be an equal and opposite force, that drives the Jew away from Judaism.

Materialism, cynicism, laziness, apathy -- all these and more, conspire to drive the Jew away from connecting to his/her Jewishness. In fact, the more powerful the Jewish soul, the more intense this resistance will be.
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And it must be this way, otherwise, the spiritual life would be too easy -- a Jewish soul, would just naturally fall into Judaism.
But G-d wants us to be challenged. When Jews practice Judaism, they are taking upon themselves the life-long challenge, to overcome these internal obstacles, and find their deeper self.
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When a non-Jew approaches Judaism, it is a whole different story. He or she has no "baggage," so he/she is open to what Judaism has to say. He/she may be attracted, or may not be -- but he/she doesn't have the emotional resistance, that a Jew does.

This is why many non-Jews come to respect Judaism, when they actually study it. They are coming with an open heart and mind, unlike the Jew, who initially can have a resistance, to anything Jewish.
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This is fine -- until the non-Jew considers conversion. He may feel, that Judaism has a depth and warmth that he seeks, he may feel good going to synagogue and celebrating festivals; and this may lead him to think, that it would be so easy to just become Jewish, and make it his spiritual home.

But there is one factor that he's not aware of.

Now it all seems so nice and comfortable, because you're just visiting. It's not yours yet, so you can look at it objectively, and just enjoy it for what it is, without any resistance. But the minute you become Jewish, everything changes.

Conversion means, not only you receive the Jewish soul, but you also receive the Jewish baggage, that weighs you down, and tries to hold you back from being an active Jew. (Again, in order to retain balance and give you a challenge).
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This is one reason, why we discourage converts. We set obstacles in their way, so they can taste what it's really like to be Jewish. So that it should be clear from the outset, that a Jewish life, is not an easy one.

There will always be obstacles, the only difference is, before conversion the obstacles are from without -- stubborn Rabbis who tell you, "don't bother with Judaism."

After converting, those same Rabbis will welcome you with open arms. But there will still be a voice telling you, to not to bother -- but then, it will be a voice from within you.

If you can overcome the resistance set up by the Rabbis, then you have a good chance of being able to overcome, the inner resistance, that is the struggle of every Jew.