Admin’s Note: Welcome to the first ever Meerkat Musings guest post! I was approached by one Nick David, who wished to write about the Jedi and the Sith, so without further preamble, I present to you his post below!

The Sith and Jedi are two sides of the force, an interesting and relatable ideology put forward by George Lucas and loved by us all.

Star Wars is a successful space franchise that follows a relatable theme, where a good side and a bad side, a selfish side, and a selfless side run the course of the Galaxy. The fantastic space franchise is powered by a mystic force that runs through all individuals, inhabiting the terrific terrains. The side of the force a force user stands with, catalyzes the action of the characters and their beliefs while dueling.

Similarly, the force philosophy is the moral compass, for a master in training the Jedi Padawan or Sith apprentice. Moreover, this pulsating force is a ubiquitous power in the space universe that creates life for the force users and forms interconnectedness among those that follow it.

The force is inherently unbiased. However, it can be manipulated and used for the greater good. In simpler words, it’s like the Millennium Falcon facing off Death Star sticking to the beliefs of its very foundation. From my observation, the polarity between the Jedi and Sith is because one side wants an upper hand in force to dominate the opposing threats. Nothing can control force. Yet, that does not stop the Sith from trying and using it for their treacherous conquests!

Jedi Philosophy: In Tune with the Force

Consider Jedi the good guys. They are the white knights who practice the light side of the force. Jedi are warriors who believe in maintaining peace and harmony in the galaxy. They are also not as obsessed with the force as their rivals.

Jedi believe force to be the extension of their noble deeds. They take the force power in tune with their peace-making mission. Jedi philosophy states no emotion, chaos, passion, power, or death exists. Instead, there is peace, knowledge, serenity, harmony and force. That sums up how they are the warriors and lightsaber heroes of the Galaxy. Jedi are determined not to let emotions cloud their sensations. As soon as a Jedi lets go, he will be attracted to all that is evil, as taught by Master Yoda.

A rational and selfless approach, a strategy adopted by Jedi sentinels particularly, solves matters just as logically. “Patience you must have, my young Padawan,” Yoda instructs Luke Skywalker during the beginning of his training (The Empire Strikes Back).

If a Jedi is to take the help of the force he must keep an equilibrium with the power. Unstable cosmic energy will deter the path of a Jedi. That is why, in the Star Wars world, Jedi warriors, sentinels, and consular are determined to restore balance by cancelling the evil spread by Sith using the neopixel lightsabers.

Darth Vader despite being an apprentice to an influential Jedi master Obi-Wan Kenobi was compelled by the dark side. His fear of the loss of his loved ones and the overwhelming determination to protect what was his became his undoing. The depth of his emotions consumed him. Conveniently, Darth Sidious took advantage of his vulnerability. ‘If once you start down the dark side, forever will it dominate your destiny, consume you it will, as it did Obi-Wan’s apprentice’ Yoda to Luke Skywalker about his father, Anakin Skywalker/ Darth Sidious.

Sith Philosophy: Power for Power’s Sake

Sith are the hedonists and satans of the Star Wars universe. As rivals, they are experts in manipulating the beliefs and philosophies of the Jedi. in a nutshell, Sith believes the opposite of the Jedi. Sith’s philosophy states that passion is everything. Peace is a lie. Similarly, strength, power, and victory can be achieved through passion.

To be nefarious and evil you must let the hatred and anger consume your soul. The prime example of Sith philosophy is reflected in the ‘Bleeding’ process. As Emperor Palpatine explains to Darth Vader, you can strip the purity from a kyber crystal and infuse it with aggression and hatred to achieve treacherous purposes.

The Sith are driven by their ruthless ambition to consume force, leading to irrevocably pursuing evil and creating unbalance in the peace-making decisions of the star systems. So long they have the high ground in the galaxy’s politics, Jedi Order, and weaponry, sith are smirking in their dark and heinous masks. While the Jedi are determined to overlook the dark aspects of the Force.

The Sith are playing with the high moral grounds of Jedi, studying them so they can one-up the saints of the space world. ‘There is no mercy’ – Shiv Palpatine while striking Darth Maul and killing him with one powerful, and merciless lightsaber strike. (Star Wars: The Clone Wars)

Looking at both the peaceful Jedi and nefarious Sith, the difference in philosophy is drawn like contrasting lines in the sand. The Jedi are too sophisticated to exploit the force and shift the natural course of the galaxy. However, the Sith believe that the force power is too good to be passed up for achieving impossible tasks such as immortality and possession.

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