Why the Jedi Live in Isolation
I am a big fan of the Star Wars movies/universe. I look with great excitement towards the next installment of the movie series in December. And as popular as Star Wars is, especially with the excitement about the new movie on its way, I find that my enjoyment of the Star Wars mythology is as much philosophical as it is from the entertainment of the movies themselves.
In particular, I have found that a recurring question pops into my head as I watch the movies - especially the original three. The question is this: why do the Jedi live such solitary existences? Of course the obvious answer lies in Episode III where the Jedi are infiltrated and betrayed not only by Darth Vader, but by the machinations of the politically ambitious Emperor Palpatine who has been maneuvering the Jedi towards destruction for a long, long time. After the Empire turns on the Jedi, they become hunted people. Hence the need to live in isolation.
But is that it? I understand that would certainly be reason enough. Yet I have always suspected that there is a little more to it. That has to do with the nature of the Jedi.
These are persons (and aliens) who have a dramatic and powerful insight into the workings of the universe. They have access to the Force, a universal power that binds and connects all life together. They can tap into the Force for good or for ill - the Force itself seems to be a value neutral thing.
In Episode I and II of the Star Wars movies, we see the Jedi at the beginning of the end of their power and influence. In some ways, while they are seen as upright protectors of virtue, we also see that they can go bad. We also see that those who aren't bad don't necessarily have the ability to see beyond themselves and their current status. The Emperor is able to manipulate them by playing on their particular sensibilities as well as their trust in the status quo.
In some ways, the Jedi are like a big, old, established church. Its edifice represents power, influence, and its place in the community. Yet many churches assume that their power has remained a constant when, as is often the case, it has only remained a constant within the edifice. Those outside the church or Jedi temple have little or no connection with the structure or its past influence. It is like a museum: it may contain great things, but if one doesn't go in, one never knows.
So when it all collapses, one of the painful realizations that the remaining Jedi have to take into account is the fact that they didn't see it coming. Hints, allegations, and an awareness that something isn't right (see Episode I - the conversation between Mace Windu and Yoda especially) existed, but they just kept going the way they were.
Those that remained have also to come to terms with the fact that as powerful as the Jedi were, what they could or couldn't do didn't matter to that many outside the Jedi Order. The truths, the power, and the abilities the Jedi had had become such a part of the system of power that to those in outlying systems (think small towns) the Jedi meant very little other than legends and stories for children. What remained of the Jedi were those who had seen the Jedi fall into disorder, destruction, and ultimately the ashes of history.
Now I know the new movies might bring the Order back, but in the interim, the Jedi were (and I would say still would be) representatives of what we might today call Gnosticism. They held a particular knowledge of the world, the universe and also held a great deal of insight into the hearts and souls of the people around them. Not everyone would look favorably on the Jedi - they were too different, too odd, and too esoteric. So the Jedi had to hide themselves - not just out of fear of persecution, but because they perhaps just knew too much. They had no real place in society, and they knew how society worked. As such, they walked not on the fringe of society, but completely out of step with it.
One of the sayings in the Gospel of Thomas is as follows: "Those who see the world behold a corpse. And those who behold a corpse, of them the world is not worthy." The meaning of the saying, and I am sure this is debatable, is that particular insight allows us to see how things really are, and once we do we recognize that it has no life. When we recognize that fact, that which has no life has no power over us. In that recognition, though, is the reality of becoming sadder but wiser. The trappings of the world no longer hold us (to jump movie metaphors, think of how Neo views the world once he realizes it is all a part of the Matrix - and that he is no longer a part of that world/Matrix. It is the same idea.).
So I think the Jedi live alone because of the persecution that arose from, perhaps their hubris, perhaps from their failure to recognize that there were changes afoot that they couldn't control. But beyond the persecution, they stay hidden because the Jedi Order that was has no place in the universe any more. In recognizing that the Order had become a corpse, it no longer held power. That didn't mean that the Force didn't have power- it remained as it always was. But the Jedi were now on a quest of their own - to live with the force and live in the world: in the world but not of it.
They just knew too much in the end. It set them apart as a beacon of hope and justice. That beacon collapsed, though, When it did, the Jedi that remained knew far too much. The only recourse was isolation. Not necessarily by choice - a Jedi could theoretically hide in plain sight - but isolation because of awareness that the forces that drive and control people, like power, greed, and the like, are also just dead bodies; corpses that have no power once we realize what they are.
So perhaps they weren't hiding out after all. They just didn't belong anymore.
In particular, I have found that a recurring question pops into my head as I watch the movies - especially the original three. The question is this: why do the Jedi live such solitary existences? Of course the obvious answer lies in Episode III where the Jedi are infiltrated and betrayed not only by Darth Vader, but by the machinations of the politically ambitious Emperor Palpatine who has been maneuvering the Jedi towards destruction for a long, long time. After the Empire turns on the Jedi, they become hunted people. Hence the need to live in isolation.
But is that it? I understand that would certainly be reason enough. Yet I have always suspected that there is a little more to it. That has to do with the nature of the Jedi.
These are persons (and aliens) who have a dramatic and powerful insight into the workings of the universe. They have access to the Force, a universal power that binds and connects all life together. They can tap into the Force for good or for ill - the Force itself seems to be a value neutral thing.
In Episode I and II of the Star Wars movies, we see the Jedi at the beginning of the end of their power and influence. In some ways, while they are seen as upright protectors of virtue, we also see that they can go bad. We also see that those who aren't bad don't necessarily have the ability to see beyond themselves and their current status. The Emperor is able to manipulate them by playing on their particular sensibilities as well as their trust in the status quo.
In some ways, the Jedi are like a big, old, established church. Its edifice represents power, influence, and its place in the community. Yet many churches assume that their power has remained a constant when, as is often the case, it has only remained a constant within the edifice. Those outside the church or Jedi temple have little or no connection with the structure or its past influence. It is like a museum: it may contain great things, but if one doesn't go in, one never knows.
So when it all collapses, one of the painful realizations that the remaining Jedi have to take into account is the fact that they didn't see it coming. Hints, allegations, and an awareness that something isn't right (see Episode I - the conversation between Mace Windu and Yoda especially) existed, but they just kept going the way they were.
Those that remained have also to come to terms with the fact that as powerful as the Jedi were, what they could or couldn't do didn't matter to that many outside the Jedi Order. The truths, the power, and the abilities the Jedi had had become such a part of the system of power that to those in outlying systems (think small towns) the Jedi meant very little other than legends and stories for children. What remained of the Jedi were those who had seen the Jedi fall into disorder, destruction, and ultimately the ashes of history.
Now I know the new movies might bring the Order back, but in the interim, the Jedi were (and I would say still would be) representatives of what we might today call Gnosticism. They held a particular knowledge of the world, the universe and also held a great deal of insight into the hearts and souls of the people around them. Not everyone would look favorably on the Jedi - they were too different, too odd, and too esoteric. So the Jedi had to hide themselves - not just out of fear of persecution, but because they perhaps just knew too much. They had no real place in society, and they knew how society worked. As such, they walked not on the fringe of society, but completely out of step with it.
One of the sayings in the Gospel of Thomas is as follows: "Those who see the world behold a corpse. And those who behold a corpse, of them the world is not worthy." The meaning of the saying, and I am sure this is debatable, is that particular insight allows us to see how things really are, and once we do we recognize that it has no life. When we recognize that fact, that which has no life has no power over us. In that recognition, though, is the reality of becoming sadder but wiser. The trappings of the world no longer hold us (to jump movie metaphors, think of how Neo views the world once he realizes it is all a part of the Matrix - and that he is no longer a part of that world/Matrix. It is the same idea.).
So I think the Jedi live alone because of the persecution that arose from, perhaps their hubris, perhaps from their failure to recognize that there were changes afoot that they couldn't control. But beyond the persecution, they stay hidden because the Jedi Order that was has no place in the universe any more. In recognizing that the Order had become a corpse, it no longer held power. That didn't mean that the Force didn't have power- it remained as it always was. But the Jedi were now on a quest of their own - to live with the force and live in the world: in the world but not of it.
They just knew too much in the end. It set them apart as a beacon of hope and justice. That beacon collapsed, though, When it did, the Jedi that remained knew far too much. The only recourse was isolation. Not necessarily by choice - a Jedi could theoretically hide in plain sight - but isolation because of awareness that the forces that drive and control people, like power, greed, and the like, are also just dead bodies; corpses that have no power once we realize what they are.
So perhaps they weren't hiding out after all. They just didn't belong anymore.
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