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 | Are the Sith and the Jedi similar? |
 When in the opera Sidious reveals a bit of Sith thinking to Anakin. The most interesting part is the following:
Sidious: "Remember back to your early teachings. All who gain power are afraid to lose it, even the Jedi"
Anakin: "The Jedi use their power for good."
Sidious: "Good is point of view Anakin. The Sith and the Jedi are similar in almost every way, including their quest for greater power"
Anakin: "The Sith rely on their passion for their strength. They think inwards only about themselves."
Sidious: "And the Jedi don't?"
Anakin: "The Jedi are selfless, they only care about others."
At first glance everybody would say that Sidious is clearly wrong here. But is he really? It is obvious the Sith think inward and only about themselves, but are the Jedi really better? The basis of the Jedi way of thinking is the same as with Buddhism in the real world. Real and lasting joy is only found within yourself, not by attaching yourself to anything outward like gaining material things or holding on to love for a person. Jedi have to learn to be happy with themselves without the need for external stimuli. The compassion or unconditional love the Jedi are supposed to have comes forth from this. Since everything is part of the Force, it is important for the Jedi to respect and love everything. What goes around comes around and if one part of a process fails, the entire process will suffer. So you could say the Jedi need the Force to be "balanced" for them to work with it. So everything they do when protecting others, they basically do to protect themselves. To make it a little more "earthly": If you see suffering, why do you feel the need to help? If you dig deep enough you will come to the conclusion that it is because YOU feel better when helping. Helping others is not as selfless as it seems, it is very often done to soothe ones own conscious. Rather selfish if ask me.
This is exactly why the Sith hate the Jedi. They think the Jedi are dogmatic and narrow minded. They feel the Jedi create a fog of lies to cover their quest for their own good, while the Sith are straightforward about it. If your goal is to make your own life better and to reach eternal life in the Force, and if you can reach that goal by doing things your way? Why would you bother to help others while doing so? You are, in the end, only helping them to achieve your own goals. Get over the feeling of guilt and take the faster road. It isn't being more selfish, it is being more realistic. Another point is the way to use the Force. The Jedi flow with the Force, while the Sith just bend it to their will. Why would you take the long way around if you can force your way straight to your goal? The Sith believe in their own inherent strength, while the Jedi believe their strength flows from the Force, they believe themselves to be weak. The Sith take control of their fate, while the Jedi just await what comes to them. Doesn't this make the Jedi seem a little weak and hypocritical?
Sidious was right when he told Anakin: "Good is a point of view Anakin." And he was also right when he said that the Sith and the Jedi are similar in almost every way. Who has the right point of view than? The Sith or the Jedi? I think that not even the wisest can answer that question. We all make choices and if these choices work for us, we are right. In the end, when our moment to go into the Force is at hand, we will know whether or not we did the right thing. Until then, we should just do what we feel is right.
May the Force be with you!
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http://blogs.starwars.com/philosophy/3 |

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Osilio Remus
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date Posted: Nov 25, 2005 12:29 PM
Exactly, good blog.
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yodascholar
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date Posted: Nov 25, 2005 12:49 PM
Yes, may be you're right, but the jedi don't kill others just to gain power, they kill bad guys, guys that destroy and don't care. After any good is done the jedi keep nothing but themselves, instead the sith want the galaxy. The jedi do care if they kill someone that didn't deserved to die; the sith see it as just another casualtie, in their quest for power.
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yodascholar
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date Posted: Nov 25, 2005 12:52 PM
Think this: What if the Jedi, once tried to conquer the Republic, overthrowing the Chancellor, arguing that they are the good guys and that the Republic will be better controled by Jedies, don't you think is a great plan? of course not, they wanted to be only with what they deserved to have; not killing and lying to have it, like the SIth.
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fett2201980 Fettspawn
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date Posted: Nov 25, 2005 1:31 PM
I think that is what attracted Anakin to the dark side. He did not think he was doing the wrong thing, he thought what he was doing was right and for the Republic.
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Grand Admiral Veers0
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date Posted: Nov 25, 2005 3:44 PM
The Devil's greatest trick was convincing the world that he didn't exist, and you fell for it. The Jedi of the prequels had lost their way, lost it to a point of losing their connection to the Force, but they were in no way similar to the Sith. They helped others because it was their duty as defenders of the galaxy, despite not choosing their job, and seeked power only in the service of others. There are certainly some parallels, but that was the fault of the Sith, adapting to secrecy and took a few Jedi rules as there own (e.g. restraint, patience, wisdom, compassion)
Once you start down the Dark path, forever will it dominate your destiny
-Yoda, Return of the Jedi
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Count Meulstee Reflections of a Grey Jedi
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date Posted: Nov 25, 2005 4:11 PM
@Grand Admiral Veers0
You have undoubtedly heard of YinYang. I believe this applies to the Sith/Jedi equation as well. Both are both completely the same and complete opposites. They both walk different paths, but these paths emanate from the same source. Who are we to say what is good and what is bad? I think that's up to the Force (God, Allah etc.)
So what I told you was true, from a certain point of view
-Obi-Wan Kenobi, Return of the Jedi
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Darth Kevinmhk
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date Posted: Nov 25, 2005 6:46 PM
Good/evil, moral value, and many other things are indeed point of view only.
we can see it true enough in human history on earth.
wt u see as wrong today, 100years later it could become right.
No one said the Jedi is better. Quoting EU Mace Windu
(i.e. quoting Matthew Stover):
"We don't have to win, all we have to do is fight."
"Jedi do not fight for peace. That's only a slogan, and is as misleading
as slogans always are. Jedi fight for civilization, because only civilization
creates peace."
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Darth Kevinmhk
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date Posted: Nov 25, 2005 6:52 PM
Palpatine's weapoin is his tongue. He is good at twisting things
from right to wrong and vice versa. Just like any real life politicans.
Good / Bad is a point of view, ya true enough, but what the Sith
did in the movies, for now, still falls into the view of bad.
Anakin Skywalker knows far better than others, that's why i suspect
he cried on Mustafar, because despite all the lies, deep down in his
heart i suspect he already knew what he did was all wrong.
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cestus183
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date Posted: Nov 25, 2005 10:18 PM
It isn't being more selfish, it is being more realistic.
That depends on what you're living and fighting for. it works for bad guys but not good guys.
The Sith take control of their fate, while the Jedi just await what comes to them. Doesn't this make the Jedi seem a little weak and hypocritical?
I disagree with both statements.
Helping others is not as selfless as it seems, it is very often done to sooth ones own conscious.
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cestus183
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date Posted: Nov 25, 2005 10:18 PM
cont.
You're not taking the fact that the receiver benefits as much as the helper into consideration here.
Why would you take the long way around if you can force your way straight to your goal?
Different goals require different paths & it takes courage and will to take the right but often long and difficult way if you are working for the common good.
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cestus183
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date Posted: Nov 25, 2005 10:19 PM
I enjoy reading blogs like this, thanks for taking the time and effort
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Count Meulstee Reflections of a Grey Jedi
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date Posted: Nov 27, 2005 4:14 AM
@Cestus
Thanks for the kind words. I enjoy writing them and it's great to hear other people enjoy reading them as well.
I fully agree with your views and I would choose the side of the Jedi every time. But as you see the Sith point of view is defendable and I believe it to be important to understand their motivations. Only that way will you obtain a larger view of the Force (life) and will you avoid becoming narrow minded and dogmatic. But I have the feeling you already grasped that principle.
MTFBWY
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Darth Chockerious
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date Posted: Nov 28, 2005 11:09 PM
There is one more way that the Sith and Jedi are alike: Both feel the Galaxy would be better off with the elimination of the other. I also wish the arguments Palpatine said to Mace in the book about even if he was a Sith, was that reason to place him under arrest? (not in those words of course.)
I think the New Jedi Order, who are allowed to love is the way to go.
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Darth Chockerious
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date Posted: Nov 28, 2005 11:18 PM
When Yoda mentioned, once down the path of the Dark Side, forever would it consume your destiny, I don't think anymore that he meant, "once you do something evil, you will always be evil." I think something in Yoda's past made him say it. Afterall, his destiny was consumed by the Dark Side, first his best student, "Dooku" turned evil, the elimination of the Jedi, Losing a duel to Palpatine, then exile, unable to complete Luke's Training due to the Dark Side calling, and finally Luke feeling betrayed. His destiny was consumed by the dark side. 
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Darth Chockerious
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date Posted: Nov 28, 2005 11:20 PM
Could it be that Yoda was once a Dark Jedi???????????????
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Master_Chrisco
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date Posted: Mar 22, 2006 6:44 PM
Of course good and bad ar'ent point of veiws it's just that we always want our point of view to be the corect one.If we are all sane here (wich i think 93.4% of us are) we would'ent always admit were wrong thats why Hitler thought it was good to kill the jews thats y Bin Ladin thought it was god to bring the towers down,be cause they thaught it was a good thing and they went on with it they were bad things of course but oh no, no. no, no SOME of you think good or bad are point of vies . Tell me hit how about i go and blow up your neighborhood but no "I think its a good idea and thats my point of view" OH PLEASE! good bye for now.
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mobile17
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date Posted: Jul 09, 2006 7:50 PM
Good and Evil are a point of view to an extent because at some point most humans will agree on what is good and what is evil. For instance even the most callous of sane people would agree that what happened on September 11 was an evil.
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mobile17
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date Posted: Jul 09, 2006 8:05 PM
One thing that did bug me was when you said:If you see suffering, why do you feel the need to help? If you dig deep enough you will come to the conclusion that it is because YOU feel better when helping...Rather selfish if ask me. Aren't you making a little bit of a hasty assumption on the ideals of the helper? I have helped people before not because it makes me feel better; but because it makes them feel better. Is that selfish? This is why the sith and jedi are different The pure sith would be selfish while the pure jedi would be selfless. lets put this into modern terms. Hitler had some good in him while Martin Luther King had some evil but do not mistake them for being the same.
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mobile17
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date Posted: Jul 09, 2006 8:06 PM
Finally everyone can answer who has the right point of view and every opinion might differ. However the people that have mostly good in them will differ only slightly so quite frankly yes we are able to say what is right and what is not. Just as we are able to say that murder (not killing) is illegal and wrong.
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darthnic20
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date Posted: Jan 06, 2007 11:00 PM
The only real differance is the wahy they gain and use power. Another thing I've learned from the Legacy of the Force Books is that Sith are NOT inhearintly evil, it is true that a higher percentage with bad backgrounds become sith more often. Thank you for listing to my thoughts. Forgive my spelling
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Count Meulstee Reflections of a Grey Jedi
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date Posted: Jan 07, 2007 5:33 AM
It's great to see that thare are still people that feel like responding to this Blog entry. The purpose of this entry was to make people think about good and evil and to show the often thin and blurry line between the two. I want to thank you all for taking the time to post your thoughts. It makes the discussion interesting.
@Darth Chockerius
I completely agree with you. Allowing love is very important, since love can create a very stable basis for creatures. By allowing it love turns from a threat into a virtue.
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