To follow another human being psychologically is to give authority to thought. In that very act, one stops observing for oneself.
When you follow someone — a teacher, a tradition, or an idea — you are no longer looking directly at what is. You are looking through the lens of another’s conclusions.
This creates dependence. And where there is dependence, there is no freedom.
Truth is not something that can be handed over, copied, or repeated. The moment it is repeated, it is no longer truth — it is memory.
Following implies acceptance without understanding. It may bring comfort, certainty, and direction, but it also ends inquiry. And without inquiry, there is no discovery.
Real understanding begins when there is no authority between the observer and what is observed. Not even the authority of one’s own past experience.
To see directly is to be free from comparison, imitation, and conclusion.
That freedom cannot exist where there is following.