In James Luceno's Labyrinth of Evil, we see the nascent understanding of Yoda's communion with Qui-Gon, however unknowing Yoda might be of the ability at this point.

Yoda's meditations allowed him to tap into the "current of the Force", and in doing so he had the impression he could hear Qui-Gon clearly across the gulf of death. And Qui-Gon, as disbelieving as Yoda might have been, was telling Yoda the secrets of timeless power, forged within the Force itself.

From the Labyrinth of Evil:

Master Yoda, he might say, We still have much to learn. The Force remains a code only partially deciphered. But another key has been found. We will become stronger than we have ever been...

Years hence Obi-Wan would echo his old master's beliefs from beyond. As he sacrificed himself for a new era, telling Darth Vader, Anakin Skywalker, his lost friend and padawan:

"You can't win.... If you strike me down, I shall become more
powerful than you can possibly imagine."

And surely the events that played out from then until the redemption of Anakin in Return of the Jedi do show the Jedi as the stronger, more lasting legacy for the galaxy.

But were they right? What do these portents really mean for themselves, for the Galaxy - "More powerful than you can possibly imagine...", "Stonger than we have ever been..."

Was Qui-Gon speaking of the Jedi's ability to cheat death, the same empty promise Palpatine had offered Anakin? Was Obi-Wan referring to his influence over events leading up to Anakin's redemption? What of Yoda's immense powers? Or Anakin's - what became of them in the ether of the Force?

One line from Empire Strikes Back sets these assertions of untapped power in a peculiar perspective. As Luke is boarding his ship to rescue his friends on Bespin, Obi-Wan and Yoda attempt to warn him off.

Obi-Wan, his ghostly hands up in protest and warning, begs of Luke, "Patience..."

Luke regards Obi-Wan in askance: "And sacrifice Han and Leia?"

"If you honor what they fight for...yes!," Yoda adds to the seriousness of the matter.

Luke's conflict plays across his face, and Obi-Wan offers his final attempt to sway Luke's impetuous mind on the matter, knowing that he may well be witnessing the same downfall as Anakin:

"If you choose to face Vader, you will do it alone. I cannot interfere."

"I understand..."

All Obi-Wan can do now is watch forlornly as Luke climbs into his ship, resolute to ignore their pleas and to meet his destiny. He adds one last warning, surely thinking only of their failure with Anakin:

"Luke, don't give in to hate -- that leads to the dark side."

Where, at this crucial juncture, was the power of the Jedi from beyond? Or is that what those statements even meant? It certainly seems Obi-Wan is completley powerless at this most important moment, the moment that Luke could very well follow his father's path from fear, to anger, to hatred, to suffering...in fact he followed nearly each and every step to the Dark Side his father had taken. Obi-Wan had no vision of the future to calm his spirit, and no influence on the living to shape the outcome.

Later, in Return of the Jedi, Obi-Wan all but gives up when Luke says he can't do what is asked of him.

"I can't kill my own father."

Obi-Wan's spirit sags, as if ghosts could tire of the living world, "Then the Emperor has already won. You were our only hope."

At that moment, it meant to Obi-Wan that he had wasted his life, and his death. However incorrect he was about Vader having to die at Luke's hands, there seemed to be no power to draw upon from the Force at this moment. The Jedi were in fact weakening to their last single glimmer.

Of course the events reversed themselves. With Obi-Wan's and Yoda's counsel, Luke overcame his fears and learned the truth was more powerful as seen through the lense of compassion, not vengence.

The Jedi did triumph in the end, but were they more powerful by the discovery of Qui-Gon's mastery of projection beyond death? What of Obi-Wan's futility? For those in need, what became of Yoda's infinite wisdom? What became of Anakin's warnings of the Dark Side? Were they put to use effectively as counsel from beyond?

Or did they help to tip, and later maintain, the Balance in a more meaningful way?

Was Qui-Gon right, or wrong?

DM out