Imbalance in the Force

[Mechwarrior]

Exactly What is this Imbalance the Jedi are Speaking Of?
I have My own Ideas what the Imbalance may be but Id like to get everyone elses opinions.

[StarshipTitanic]

Too much Light and not enough Dark, but the Jedi didn't know that. They thought Anakin would help them but he really put a ton of power in the Dark side to balance everything.

[Illuminatus Primus]

Too much Light and not enough Dark, but the Jedi didn't know that. They thought Anakin would help them but he really put a ton of power in the Dark side to balance everything.

No, that's not what it means, because GL himself said the Force was balanced when Vader destroyed Palpatine at Endor.

[Mechwarrior]

My own personall theory is that the Imbalance is not a Light/Dark thing.

The Force is suppose to be a 'living thing' and its greatest expression was through the Jedi. so the Force should grow/evolve with the Jedi. Problem is that the Jedi done marry and reproduce so the 'growth' of the force was a bit stunted. the force itself decided to correct this by fathering its own offspring (anakin) at a time and place where said offspring would be in a position to be recruited by jedi, Fall in love, sire offspring,and subsequently the Sith and was intended to bring down the Jedi order . Ultimatle the offspring of the force was to bring down the sith as well while his own offspring (Luke) would begin a NEW edi order where Jedi Could marry and reproduce so the orce could Grow again.

Of course all this supposes that the Force Itself has some kind of Sentience.

Is this Plausable or it it a little too far out.

[Illuminatus Primus]

Jedi do speak of the Will of the Force.

[Stofsk]

My own personall theory is that the Imbalance is not a Light/Dark thing.

I have the same thought, which apparently is corroborated in the NJO books. I think, although I haven't read it, "The Unifying Force" says that the Light side/Dark side thing was a sham. Can anyone confirm and elaborate?

*snip*

Pretty much in agreement, except for the fatherless siring of Anakin. I'm waiting for episode 3 and hoping his father will be revealed (or the story comes out - it would be hideously ironic and somewhat fitting if Palpatine was Anakin's father, or responsible for his birth in some way, but then it's also hideously contrived too. ).

Of course all this supposes that the Force Itself has some kind of Sentience.

Is this Plausable or it it a little too far out.

Given that it's described to be created by all living things I don't think it's implausible to suggest that the Force is sentient. Consider what the term sentient really means:

Sentient - adj - capable of perception and feeling.

The force grants supernatural insight and awareness to those who are sensitive enough to "hear" it. How could it do this if it wasn't aware and perceptive?

[PainRack]

Exactly What is this Imbalance the Jedi are Speaking Of?
I have My own Ideas what the Imbalance may be but Id like to get everyone elses opinions.

Several religions and philosophies have their own ideas about imbalance.

Medicine during Shakespeare time was usually a battle between restoring balance between the various humours in a body, mainly through the usuage of bloodletting.

Gaia, a religion/philosophy that treats Mother Earth as a living creature also stresses the balance of nature and how changes in one will unbalance the equation.

A sect of Taoism,( I can't recall whether Jin or Chan favours the Tao De Jin or I Ching to Westerners more) also puts emphasis on the idea between the balance of Yin and Yang, two dramatically opposites that exist due to the existence of each other.


Zen Buddhism itself also follows closely an idea of balance between creation and destruction.

Unlike Greek influenced societies, Asiatic religions and philosophies have mostly stepped away from the typical triumph of good over evil, or the Nordic version of triumph of evil when the gods fall. Instead, they have placed more emphasis on the idea of creation and destruction, being perhaps influenced by the Hindu religion of evil and good being lasting concepts on Earth and equally neccesary. Lao Tzu himself stated the impossibility of comparing good if evil was absent. Good and evil has thus been modifed into creation and destruction, and Buddhism, being an offset of Hinduism reflects this in the wheel of reincarnation. Shiva will destroy the universe, because death is a part of the cycle of life, and so is birth.



Before I continue, I guess I should address what is called imbalance. The Le Chatelier Principle states that whenever a factor in the equation is changed, the entire equation will shift so as to relieve the pressure and achieve a new balance in the equation. Interesting enough, most "balance" in religion/philosophy appears to reflect this notion, with the orginal idea of karma. Karma in its most basic meaning, meant that what is done today, will affect life tomorrow.





With the exposition over, I get to the point. The Jedi are now an overwhelming arch of Light, of good. However, the Force religion, does not inherently believe in the concept of good but in moderation. Yang is vitality and life, but too much of it equates to overheatiness and is harmful. Similarly, the concept of good being the Jedi has slowly become too overbearing, and we now seen that the Jedi has become too arrogrant. Too proud in their ideals as guardians of the Galaxy. Hubris, in that they, as the dealers of good, are right, and there is no need to concern themselves with the cosquences. Notice how Obiwan silently deals out judgement on the deathstick dealer, notice the curses of the Muppet as to the Jedi Anakin interfering with lane traffic.


As such, the one focused point of the Force is born in Anakin Skywalker. Anakin skywalker can be alternatively seen as the catalyst, the emetic, or the dot in the Yin and Yang symbol. It is he who will accelerate the Jedi demise and rebirth, he who will purge the Jedi and the Emperor of their hubris and fallen ideals and it is he who represents the darkness in the Jedi Order, and alternatively, the Light in the Sith Empire. The quote "There is still good in him. I have felt it" converse equally applies to his tutelage in the Jedi Order. "There is still evil,fear,anger,hatred in him. I have felt it" could have been said by Master Yoda to Mace Windu. Notice how the Jedi fell when they have become too proud of their abilities. Mace windu overconfidence in the Jedi led to many Jedi casualties in Genosis, Palpatine confidence in his forces led to his death at Endor.


Linked up with the Sons of Suns prophecy, the Force is now truly balanced in a new equillbrium.

[Smiling Bandit]

Unlike Greek influenced societies, Asiatic religions and philosophies have mostly stepped away from the typical triumph of good over evil, or the Nordic version of triumph of evil when the gods fall. Instead, they have placed more emphasis on the idea of creation and destruction, being perhaps influenced by the Hindu religion of evil and good being lasting concepts on Earth and equally neccesary.

Only if you consider China and Japan to be the sole arbiters of "Asian" culture. There's this little place we call Russia, along with some unimportant and minor places called the Middle East, Persia, and Central Asia. And I'd say that many parts of Southeast Asia are less inclined to the concept of "balance" than you think.

[Ted C]

Palpatine and a single apprentice (at a time) were able to evade and defeat the entire Jedi Order, which suggests to me that the Dark Side was in a period of ascendance while Palpatine lived. Somehow Anakin corrected the imbalance by killing Palpatine -- possibly some kind of "darkness turned against itself" thing.

[PainRack]

Unlike Greek influenced societies, Asiatic religions and philosophies have mostly stepped away from the typical triumph of good over evil, or the Nordic version of triumph of evil when the gods fall. Instead, they have placed more emphasis on the idea of creation and destruction, being perhaps influenced by the Hindu religion of evil and good being lasting concepts on Earth and equally neccesary.

Only if you consider China and Japan to be the sole arbiters of "Asian" culture. There's this little place we call Russia, along with some unimportant and minor places called the Middle East, Persia, and Central Asia. And I'd say that many parts of Southeast Asia are less inclined to the concept of "balance" than you think.

India is South Asia where Hinduism is based on the balance of karma, Central Asia was generally dominated by Arabic culture, which in the early stages did not place the confrontation and demonisation of evil as highly as European cultures, etc etc etc.

Furthermore, I do not see how one can fail to judge Asiatic culture by these concepts, considering that the axis of China, India, Japan and Polynesian tribes equates to the majority of the population in Asia.

Of course, I guess I should more properly equate my definition to East Asiatic cultures though.

[Shogoki]

Being that the Force is a... er... Force of nature i don't think good or evil make any difference, nor that the issue is too complex, my guess is simply that different force powers act on different "frecuencies" of the Force, kinnda like why the Vong weren't affected at first.

The Jedi were simply too many and using their powers a lot and had been doing this for a long time, creating "spikes" within the Force "spectrum" or whatever, kinnda like when a species grows too much in numbers in the real world and starts to make a negative impact on the enviroment. So in an event equivalent to maybe a wild fire or something, the Jedi started losing their powers, and the extra power was fed to the "frecuencies" underused by those in the "Dark side", hence making them so strong as to be able to take on several Jedi's.

Anakin may have been the one to bring balance, but that those not mean it had to be good, it just ment that he had to balance things out, so it became easier for him to use the "Dark Side" than the "Light Side".

Now that there aren't any jedi left, just Luke and 2 Sith who made extensive use of their powers, enough to eliminate most of the Jedi, the force is again slightly unbalanced twards the "Dark Side", but not nearly as much as it once was to the "Light Side". So when Vader kills the Emperor, and then dies himself, Luke was not enough to make a difference in the balance. Since nobody is wielding around the Force anymore it became "Balanced" once again.