The point about not being a mere framework-user is not that you have to build the universe to bake an apple pie, like Carl Sagan put it, but to attain the level of understanding necessary to do so.
This can involve building your own framework, if you must, but it's not a requirement. It suffices to understand the concepts behind them to a certain extent.
As for enlightenment; many developers forget why they originally started their journey: it is to find the beauty in the code that brings its users joy to use it and make other developers reading it nod in acknowledgement.
The point about not being a mere framework-user is not that you have to build the universe to bake an apple pie, like Carl Sagan put it, but to attain the level of understanding necessary to do so.
This can involve building your own framework, if you must, but it's not a requirement. It suffices to understand the concepts behind them to a certain extent.
As for enlightenment; many developers forget why they originally started their journey: it is to find the beauty in the code that brings its users joy to use it and make other developers reading it nod in acknowledgement.
taking off my hat