The Nature of the Dark Side, and the Balance of the Force

[Tovor]

There is a vast divide between those who can't decide whether Anakin brought balance to the Force by helping the evil Sith emperor wipe out the Jedi Order, or by turning his back on the dark side to return to the good and save his son, the last hope of the Jedi. So what say you? Was the balance restored by Anakin wiping out the Jedi and leaving two Jedi and two Sith, or by destroying the powerful Sith master who had disrupted the harmony of the Force by destroying the Jedi and overrunning the galaxy with his evil?

I am firmly convinced that the answer is the latter.

My take is that the Force itself is good by its very nature, and that the dark side is an abomination and abuse of the good of the Force. The Jedi need to be at peace, passive, to interact with the Force, for the Force requires harmony and peace to be in balance. When the Jedi is acting by anger or greed he is going against the nature of the Force and throws his own inner Force balance out of whack.

In TPM Qui-Gon sensed a tremor in the Force, something that was causing friction against the harmony of the Force. Whether that was the untrained Anakin interacting with the Force without true knowledge of it, or the future arrival of Darth Maul that he sensed, something was contrasting the peaceful nature of the Force. Impending evil use of the Force, a violation of the nature of the peaceful Force, was sensed by Qui-Gon like ripples in a disrupted pond. The good user of the Force interacts with it and flows with it, in harmony; while dark side users, going against the nature of the "goodness" of the Force, disrupted it and sent out ominous ripples. Lucas has stated that at the time of TPM, both Yoda and Mace Windu had already begun to sense that the Force was becoming unbalanced by a growing evil entity. While they did not detect Darth Sideous' presence on Coruscant, or Sideous/Palpatine's dark side presence even beside them, they still detected that the Force was becoming unbalanced by something unknown. I think if Yoda and Windu's discussion at Qui-Gon's funeral, the "Always two there are..." revelation, had included their understanding that it was the resurgence of the Sith that had caused the unbalance they had previously sensed, we would have a better understanding of GL's direction regarding the "balance" plotline. So my belief is that the return of the Sith (return to power, out of hiding) was the cause of the unbalance in the Force, and it was Anakin's destruction of the Sith Master--who caused the imbalance--that restored it.

So with that belief, I say that once Palpatine rose to true power as Emperor and destroyed the keepers of good and peace, the Force was completely and overwhelmingly out of balance, with only Dark Side imbalance permeating the galaxy.

With the entire galaxy out of balance with the Force due to the Emperor's evil, and the evil hearts of those who worked for him, it was Luke's training on Dagobah that caused a calming ripple of good and peace in the middle of the raging imbalance of the Force in the galaxy. It was that calm spot in the middle of a storm that alerted the Emperor in TESB to Luke's training and rising threat to Palpatine. Now why didn't Obi-Wan's existance cause such a disruption to the imbalanced Force to alert the emperor? I don't know, except that the hermit Kenobi was not using the Force to a great degree on Tatooine to be sensed by the emperor. Despite Vader's sensation of Kenobi on the Death Star due to familarity, it was only Luke's training with Yoda, and his rising abilities, that caused ripples in the imbalanced Force big enough for Vader and the emperor to sense.

In summary, previous to TPM the Force had been in balance due to the Jedi stemming evil and working for peace, but the rise of the "extinct" Sith was causing an imbalance. After Episode III, the Force was in complete disruption and imbalance. In Episode V with the Force in imbalance, it was the rise of the "extinct" Jedi that was causing a growing balance. So when Anakin drove the dark side from his own free will and killed the ultimate evil, he restored balance by eliminating the cause of the imbalance.

[Tovor]

The Dark Side Within
and
The Balance of the Force


Is evil a mere symbolic figurative for the results of actions in opposition to what is acceptably good, or is evil a sentient ever-present, aware and intentful force which seeks to be glorified by the deeds of those who give in to its temptation? We normally consider the workings of the dark side of the Force evil, and the nature of the light side of the Force to be good. But what is good, and what is evil? We consider ‘good’ to be what is morally correct and socially acceptable, and the very definition of those actions which are in adherence of the written law. And evil, of course, is not only that which transgresses the laws of the galaxy, but also the actions and results of those who seek undeserved and selfish gain, and cause unauthorized theft or destruction to the property of others; and the infliction of pain, loss, and death to innocents. But beyond, or rather even before the laws of the Senate or individual societies take precedent, the nature of the Force itself defines and shows us what is good and just, and what is wrong and evil.

The Force exists in a tranquil state of existential harmony and fluid tranquility, and it requires all who call upon it to maintain a comparable state of calm logic and passive emotional balance. When this balance of the Force is in place, we feel peace and know goodness. The dark side of the Force, however, thrives on pandemonium and negativity, and reacts accordingly and favorably to emotions of anger, hate, and greed from those who then use the dark side to achieve such aims as we consider morally wrong. Thus, we can state that whatever the final outcome of our actions, the use of the light side is good and the use of the dark side is evil. And so, we can rightfully conclude that the light side itself is good and the dark side of the Force is evil.

That brings me to another question. When a being gives in to the dark side and becomes its willing subject, such as in the case of the dark cult of the Sith, is that person in control of the dark side, or the dark side in control of the person bound in darkness? Is the dark side a force of evil to be controlled by those of evil intent, or is the dark side a living and aware entity of evil form which then possesses and controls those with evil desires? Inherent in every heart is the potential to pursue evil and magnify the dark side of the Force, just as evil always seeks out the potential in each of us to embrace it.

Every being has the potential for evil. Every person is born with an equal amount of light side and dark side receptors; both sides call out to us seductively, and it takes a strong-willed person to choose the good side over the bad. That is how in some respects the dark side IS stronger than the light, because the evil potential within us constantly strives for recognition and gain, and the welcoming constant of the dark side around us is always at work to meet and react to the dark side potentiate within. The nature of the light side of the Force, however, is such that it chooses to remain passive and non-intrusive upon the will of those who do not welcome it. So while the light side, the good side, of the Force is, figuratively speaking, content to offer itself only to those who seek its goodness, the dark side is always at work around the passive ones striving to disrupt their calm and infringe its dark will upon their own. And when, sadly, the calm ones dwell on such negative emotions as fear, anger, greed, and hate, the dark side responds to the call and invades the good will of those it wishes more than anything else to corrupt. For only when the goodness within has been subdued and driven out can the dark side enjoy the negative peace and disharmony it symbolically enjoys.

One could ask, “Why is the dark side an ever-present danger to the Jedi mind and will, while the light side of the Force has no effect on agents of the Sith?” Well, I believe that it is the training that the Jedi commits himself to which gives him the power to maintain a separation between the temptation of the dark side on the outside and the dark side yearning from within. If, and sadly when, the two make contact and are allowed to fester and grow, the path of the Jedi is diverted and he must struggle to maintain the goodness within him and use it to overwhelm the inflamed evil nature before the dark side takes its figurative control and overwhelms the good.

This is why the Jedi are faced with dark side temptation as a constant, because the desires for both good and bad exist already in our souls, almost always at battle with one another for domination over the Jedi mind and soul. But with the Sith, however, the nature of the dark side is never willing to share dominion of the soul with a morally righteous goodness, and so the good from within must be defeated and driven out entirely, leaving no further remnant to be tempted by the light side of the Force. And this is why those who pursue the dark path of the Sith cannot return, for there is no good survived within them to remember their pasts and crave the light they left behind.

But what about Anakin Skywalker, who repented of the dark side, found redemption, and restored the balance of the Force in ROTJ? How is it that his son enabled him to remember the light he left behind and strive to return to it? As we all know, there were still some semblances of good remaining in Anakin. As powerful a Sith as Darth Vader was, he was not fully consumed by the dark side; for the will of the living Force had ensured that at least some good remained in order for the prophesy to be fulfilled. Which leads me to wonder, and seek to answer, was Anakin Skywalker, as Darth Vader, truly evil, or was he a pawn of the dark side under its possession and control? In reference to the evil nature hidden within us all, when Anakin Skywalker was seduced by the dark side of the Force, did the evil in him take control of the dark side of the Force, or did the dark side itself take control of the evil within him? I believe the latter, for if he had been destined to be purely evil and turned over entirely to the dark side, the living Force would not have left the good seeds buried deep in the soil of his soul, to be unearthed and watered later by his son’s example. I do not believe that Anakin Skywalker turned to evil completely of his own free will; I believe that evil turned on him and took control. The dark side gained its edge because he found some slight comfort in what it offered him, and before he could turn back and regain the righteous path, he had already gone too far and the dark side which at first had tempted him then took over and consumed him. Thus Darth Vader was not fully Sith, and not entirely owned by the dark side. The light side still had partial ownership of his soul, and still had plans for him in the future which Emperor Palpatine had tried to prevent from occurring.

Palpatine may have known of the Son of the Sun prophesy before he turned Anakin to the dark path, and he must have been trying to corrupt Anakin from the Jedi path to not only secure his own claim to absolute power but also to prevent Anakin Skywalker from being the one to fulfill the prophesy and bring balance back to the Force. He thought he had succeeded when he turned him to the Sith and used him to destroy the Jedi, but the will of the Force had other plans and in the end the good side of the Force prevailed; apparently proving that the light is always stronger than the dark, and the light side is good and good always wins in the end.

[Tovor]

Hmmm...a bit too deep for some, perhaps? :scratchchin:

[Jonan Mephi]

Gosh, I hate replying to all that without an essay drawn up (lol) but seriously, I just popped on and I'll address one of your questions.

Regarding how Luke could get Anakin to come back to his senses, and the good side, I think the question itself makes an erroneous assumption. See, I don't think Vader ever forgot being Anakin, and being "good". After all, Luke was "right about [him]". Meaning even he realised something wasn't right, after all those years. He just couldn't fight it alone. Even though it took some time, and some personal interaction between father and son, for it occur, it was merely Luke's presence, and willingness to sacrifice himself for his father, that did it.

More later, if I am able. I've been kind of ill recently. So its back to the bacta tank with me...

[DarthLazious]

Well acording to Lucas. Anakin brought Balance to the Force by killing Palpatine and saving his son Luke.

I always thought Balance of the Force always meant Anakin destroying The old Jedi Order and making it a new kinda of like what Darth Bane did with The Sith oif his time.

[Emalin]

Some interesting thoughts, Tov. :) I have to admit, though, the idea of "calm logic and passive emotional balance" being required by the Force bothers me. I guess I don't think it's about logic vs. emotion or self-control vs. no self-control. If anything, I think the Light would embody love and selflessness vs. the Dark's hatred and selfishness. Neither love or hate is passive. But that's just my radical opinion, and the whole "passivity" element might just be what I perceive as a fundamental flaw in the concept of the Force. (It's an energy field... balance would mean equilibrium... equilibrium is a calm, motionless state...)

Y'know, I've been pondering this lately, and I've come up with my own theory concerning how Anakin brought balance to the Force. I wonder if the prophecy of the Chosen One might have been misread somehow. Yoda himself volunteered that possibility, but perhaps it goes deeper than "oops we missed the part where he turns into Vader first!". IMO, the Jedi were getting pretty... off in some of their thinking: namely, their emphasis on detachment. Sure, that's passive; that's logical. But it's dehumanizing. (Or, in the case of SW, "dehumanoidizing" :wink: ) We thrive on relationships, on attachments. Would the Force really call upon us to give those things up and, along with them, our own humanity? Besides, the Jedi also taught that you must practice compassion. How do you do this when you're told not to feel emotion? "Detached compassion"? That's an oxymoron. It can't be done.

An AU fanfic I recently read depicted a young, innocent Luke meeting Yoda for the first time. This young Luke observed unabashedly that he perceived Yoda's Force aura as "cold". Turns out he perceived it as such because Yoda had mastered the art of detachment.

It's things like that that got me to thinking: "Hey, hold on a second. The Jedi are supposed to follow the Light, right? Which is the opposite of the Dark Side. And the Dark Side is all about hatred and selfishness, isn't it? So what's the opposite of that, if not love and selflessness?" But, if that's the case, then the Jedi had strayed from the true Light.

As we all know, Anakin didn't follow their policy of detachment. I don't see a problem with that at all. One big reason he fell to the Dark Side, I think, was because he had no true support. He was afraid that Padme would die, but since marriage wasn't allowed in the first place, he couldn't rely on the Jedi to help him. When he went to Yoda, Yoda simply told him to "mourn them not, miss them not". (Again, advocating something that's... inhuman.) If you watch Anakin's reaction, you can see that he gives up on the Jedi at that point.

So, how do I think Anakin brought balance to the Force? Well, I think he couldn't have done it without Luke, so that makes both of them "chosen ones" in a sense. It all comes down to the end of the saga when Luke redeems him. Luke definitely did NOT follow the Jedi policy of detachment! He went after his father with all the love he could muster. And that, in the end, is what saved Anakin from his own darkness. Together, they demonstrated that love is the only thing that can truly keep one from the Dark Side (think of Luke throwing away his saber and saying, "You've failed, your highness!"), and not only that, but turn one from it (think of Anakin picking up Palpatine and throwing him down the shaft).

After Anakin dies, Luke is the only living Jedi. Having learned this great lesson, I believe he would go on to establish a new Jedi order based on a foundation of love (not detachment) and selflessness. I'm not sure how far the New Jedi Order of the EU goes in this respect. Still, I think that restoring love to the Jedi would truly bring balance to the Force. They had strayed from the heart of the Light. By embracing love, they would again embrace the heart of the Light, of everything that is contrary to the Dark Side. This would make them true adversaries of the Dark, thus "balancing" the Force. Whenever the hatred of the Sith arises (and it will, again and again), the love of the Jedi will beat it back.

"The dark is generous, and it is patient, and it always wins--
but in the heart of its strength lies weakness:
one lone candle is enough to hold it back.

"Love is more than a candle.
Love can ignite the stars."

~ Matthew Stover, ROTS novelization

(Ta-da! :D Makes sense to me!)

Of course, I realize this makes Luke sound more like the Chosen One than Anakin. None of it would have happened without Anakin, though. Anakin is the one who shunned the Jedi teaching of detachment, married Padme, and brought Luke into existence. :wink: He is also the one who took action to destroy the Sith out of love for his son. That makes him the "primary mover" here, I think. And there are probably other reasons that I haven't thought of yet.

But, again, this is all my own little theory. I kinda haven't accounted for the whole "energy field" aspect of the Force, which I never really understood anyway, but which you included with your idea of "light side and dark side receptors", Tov.

[lovelucas]

I know this is overused, but so appropriate here - meditate on this I will. That's a hunk to chew on but definitely worth doing. I think George would have a good feeling about this.....that his story does make us think turn around and reconsider then ponder endlessly. It's always a pleasure (to meet a Jedi but...) to see posts like this one.

thanks - I will return -

[Raganork8]

A quick Answer...


It was neither.

In my opinion

The Balance was solely in one person and that's Anakin.

By embracing the Lightside and being able to understand the Dark Side and use it's properties to do good; he created a balance that outweighs both sides of the equation.

[lovelucas]

Fantastic summation there Raganork - and many of us do come to the finish line with that conclusion but it's endlessly interesting to read that so many are still getting there...
I never tire of the process.
Just watched A New Hope again today....still yes, still finding new things to think about.

like: how important to George and Star Wars are trust and promise.