Are you a student or a follower?

A lot of people debate on lot of -isms and some go on to form a treatise, school of thought or a philosophy that seems to explain reality observable & fathomable by their current intellect & state of mind. A lot of such belief systems are available for our mind's consideration; such as scientific theories that explain the workings of the material universe or spiritual philosophies that explain the material mind as well as direct towards something that's beyond material human mind. I've seen endless debates that try to prove or disprove the other. Whether people trying to disprove the existence of God to people trying to prove God through logic. Scientists have proven the existence of sub-atomic particles to large amount of dark energy in our universe. Numerous people debate whether such discoveries have made the God redundant. Religious philosophers try to warn the scientific community of a world sans God. These debates are endless and starkly futile. We can spend eons listening to multitude of experts debating on such topics without any result in sight. Whether you call yourself an atheist or a theist, most of us are just superficially attaching ourselves to someone else's belief system.

After all such theories, philosophies, treatises are realization of a truth via hard work and experimentation. Is Einstein's thought experiment into the nature of light & gravity less or more relevant than Kabir Das's thought experiment on nature of mind & God. How can you deny the experience of one on the basis of rationality or faith? Einstein wrote research papers based on his experiments that are explaining a material phenomenon using equations or logic. Similarly Kabir Das wrote his research paper on the material nature of mind based on his spiritual experiments. Like Einstein, his papers are available for us to comprehend and experiment using our current level of intellect to raise both our intellect and mind. Do I have the right to pass judgments on either based on my limited understanding? I would be only conjecturing and pretending to be affiliated to a particular side because it seems to be more real than the other.

This begs the question that what is the use of a particular philosophy, theory or a belief? Is it a source of enlightenment, happiness and hope to me? A belief system should act as a guiding light in the life and should be imbibed in the everyday life. For if you believe certain things you try to learn and practice that every day. At least that's what the original aim of the proponent of a particular theory or belief was! So is my belief or philosophy or theory bringing me happiness? Is happiness just a state of mind? We can all agree superficiality doesn't lead to lasting happiness. So happiness isn't just an ephemeral emotion but it is freedom from doubts and ignorance. So is my theory elevating me to such a state? Such a state can only be attained through continuous practice and learning. Am I just blindly believing Einstein or Kabir Das? Or am I making their theories my own deeply personal experience by continuously experimenting on my own? If you're experimenting then doubts that try to negate a particular theory shouldn't bother you. These doubts should only make you realize that there is more to learn. As in true learning the happiness keeps on increasing. If it not then that theory isn't worth your attention for even a second not because the theory lacks but you're a bad student.