The Sith, the Jedi, the Ancient Force Religion, & the Two Great Struggles of Human History, Part 1

I want to get back to a meditation I previously sought to think on before the events of 10/1/12 and their subsequent aftermath.

This blog is to be on the conflict between the Sith and the Jedi, and its greater backdrop as an allegory to the larger, real-world struggle between good and evil.

Specifically, I'd like to explore what is, in essence, an internecine conflict of religious extraction that eventually spills over into a wider galaxy and enraptures it in turmoil, chaos, war, destruction, devastation, and despair.

The Two Great Struggles of Human History

To make the real-world connection, however, we must first ask the question: What are the two great struggles of human history? 

Put simply, these two great conflicts are those between good and evil and those between liberty and tyranny.  In fact, it is my personal belief that the struggle between liberty and tyranny is but a subset of the broader conflagration between good and evil.

I'll not examine too many real-world examples of these conflicts, though - in aiding our understanding of the fictional age-old rivalry between the two great Force denominations of Sith and Jedi - some examples will in fact be useful to that purpose.

But first, a delve into the philosophies of the Force's two primary sects.

The Ancient Force Religion's Two Great Denominations

Although there are many other Force sensitive beings in the Star Wars universe expressing and codifying their understanding of the ethereal power, the two most renown divisions of the Force philosophy remain those of the Sith and Jedi. And it is to these two once unified, but now fiercely divided groups, we shall first turn our examination.

THE JEDI CODE

There is no emotion, there is peace.

There is no ignorance, there is knowledge.

There is no passion, there is serenity.

(There is no chaos, there is harmony.)(*)

There is no death, there is the Force.



  

Yoda, master exemplar of the Jedi Code in the modern era 

Undoubtedly there are many great masters, many great heroes, of the Jedi Order who uplifted the galaxy and fulfilled their destiny as mighty Force wielders. These devotees of the Light Side believed in the passionless, emotionless 

expression of their connection to the Force, not as manipulators of this power, but as instruments of it. In other words, they believed themselves to be the tools of the Force, the living, fleshly embodiment of its will. 



THE SITH CODE

Peace is a lie, there is only passion.
Through passion, I gain strength.
Through strength, I gain power.
Through power, I gain victory.
Through victory, my chains are broken.
The Force shall free me.



Palpatine (aka Darth Sidious), unequaled
master of the Sith Code in modern times 

By contrast, the Sith are the undaunted devotees of faith in themselves alone, and in the Force as an instrument of their will in the universe. The Sith do not accept the obtuse notion that peace, equality, and selflessness are the paths to enlightenment and self-improvement. On the contrary, seeking ones own betterment, ones own desires, is the way of the truly enlightened being - even if such path must come at the expense of others. The Sith believe that the Jedi devotion to others is a mask for fear of themselves, and the unwillingness to face the truth of their own concealed lust for personal power. And while the Sith accept the Jedi as fellow Force sensitives, they frown upon both the individual and collective Jedi's reticence to use their power to coerce "the right" upon lesser beings, and to exalt themselves as masters and shapers of the greater good above the petty squabbles of those incapable of recognizing that they indeed must be lead to this enlightenment.

Put more simply: the Sith acknowledge that there are those born to rule, and those born to be ruled. They accept that those who embrace the Dark Side of the Force have freed themselves to this truth, and are thus ready to take upon themselves the burden of this manifest destiny.

And This Mysterious Power Called "The Force" Which They Worship?

Well, the Force is what gives a Jedi his power.

It's an energy field created by all living things. It

surrounds us and penetrates us; it binds the galaxy

together.

-- Obi-Wan Kenobi 

One could say that neither the Jedi nor Sith "worship" the Force, though some in both sects believe the energy a deity of sorts. It may, perhaps, better be said that the two sects revere the great mystical power and its presence in the material universe, yet for obviously divergent reasons and differing ends. 

Still, the Force, as Jedi master Obi-Wan Kenobi once said, is an energy field that permeates all living things. Indeed, it is both created by, and beyond all living matter, and can even encompass those things which have passed beyond the veil of death or non-material existence.

This knowledge - which both Jedi and Sith embrace - is at the core of being able to both understand and harness the Force's living power to its fullest aspects. And while the Jedi respect the principle that the Force is deep, abiding, and cannot be fully known, the Sith believe that the Force can and must be fully understood in order for an adept of its power to completely realize his or her utmost potential.



Jedi master Obi-Wan Kenobi in his later years

 One could then intuit that it is this separation of belief that defines the idea that "faith is the...evidence of things not seen" vs. the notion that one must "prove" or "test all things." For those who are unaware, the two above quotes are both of biblical extraction, and challenge us to accept the paradoxical view that one must have faith in what is ultimately unknowable while simultaneously seeking to prove the validity and reality of that which, in the end, cannot be fully understood vis-a-vis the limited capacities of finite awareness.

Is there, then, a true separation in this notion of faith vs knowledge? Or are they actually two sides of the same idea, but in much more subtle and deeper forms than the finite mind can perceive?

And based on one's answer to this question, can we not also ask: Is there, truly, a separation of philosophy between the Sith and Jedi? Or is it merely a separation of practice and form?


Before proceeding to the next phase of our meditation, let us consider these questions and the host of further insights they challenge us to explore. And in our next discussion, we will dive into a few real struggles between good and evil, right and wrong, and their relation to the fictional battle between the Jedi and Sith, and some of their manifestations in the Star Wars universe.

We shall also attempt to see how the real world sets itself as a backdrop for these conflicts, and what we can learn about our own individual and collective roles in history.

As always, our desire is to promote the upward reach of mankind in the real universe, and to inspire each human being to see him or herself as a manifestation of those transcending truths which bind us together. Ultimately, we seek to inspire every man and woman to envision themselves as actors in the real world, and not simply as passive observers of history.

Until next time....




To the upward reach of man.