Thanks to the new Star Wars trilogy, we have a deeper glimpse into the training required to become a Jedi. One thing that struck me is the constant warnings about falling to the Dark Side. Let’s review some of the ways that someone can end up on the Dark Side, according to the Jedi:
Hate leads to the Dark Side
Fear leads to the Dark Side
Anger leads to the Dark Side
Jealousy leads to the Dark Side
That all makes a bit of sense. But then Yoda dropped these bombs on us:
Love leads to the Dark Side
The fear of loss leads to the Dark Side
Emotional attachment leads to the Dark Side
So for a Jedi to remain on the Light Side, they have to avoid any feelings of anger, hate, jealousy, fear, love, and any emotional attachment to anyone or anything. It seems like it would have been easier to explain what doesn’t lead to the Dark Side. It sounds like the average Jedi would either have to be a robot or have a lobotomy. Frankly, it seems far easier to fall to the Dark Side than it is to stay on the Light Side. Some might argue that illustrates the struggle all humans face to resist evil. So why are there so few Dark Jedi?
In episodes 1-3, they say that the Sith have been gone for a thousand years. You’re telling me that in a thousand years, no Jedi has fallen to the Dark Side, except two of them? With the number of Jedi being trained and indoctrinated and struggling to resist the Dark Side over a thousand years? Maybe that’s why the Jedi like ’em young, because it’s easier to brainwash a child with the mind-numbingly restrictive way of life a Jedi has to follow. Even monks who live in a monastery on a lonely mountain in Tibet and have taken a vow of silence, poverty, and chastity think the Jedi are too uptight.
Discover more from The Geek Twins
Subscribe to get the latest posts sent to your email.
<span class="dsq-postid" data-dsqidentifier="42905 ">2 Comments
You make a good point. I think he was trying to exemplify the Buddhist or Taoist lifestyle, but he did a terrible job. It just came across as being pointless, especially since the other Jedi didn't seem to show much emotional control themselves. Obi-Wan obviously felt loss and attachment when Qui-Gon was killed by Darth Maul.
They had not been seen for 1,000 years. The Sith had once been a race of people, corrupted by fallen Jedi banished to Korriban. They had been trained in the force. Years later Darth Bane killed his race off and instated a rule of two. These Sith were in hiding for 1,000 years.
Some Jedi did not follow the code, like Qui-gon Jinn, but did not fall to the dark side. Some even Left the order all together, like Count Dooku, whom later became Darth Tyranus.
Many paths lead to the dark side, but few wish to walk them that far.