Why is there evil in the world?
Good question. And its answer depends greatly upon your point of view. Most people know the Biblical story of the Adam and Eve in Genesis. Augustine maintained that human beings are born evil, in a state of original sin. Freudian theory ties everything back to sexual desire in one form or another. Recent models of psychology either promote human beings as being basically good, focus on building self-esteem and confidence (Transactional Analysis and Rogerian models in particular); attempt to focus on altering cognition (or how we learn and perceive things – Gestalt therapy for example) and incorporating changing perceptions regarding good and evil; or throw the whole good/evil debate out the window and focus on the present circumstances independent of the question of “Why?” (Behaviorism and May’s reality therapy in particular).
Then we come to Force study which states that “good” and “evil” basically do not exist as such, but are all a matter of perception and that people have both the capacity to work great benefit or great harm through their actions. I have discussed the “ripple effect” elsewhere, i.e. the creation of positive and negative energy through our words and actions, and will just touch on it again here. Good and evil each has a place in the overall template for our lives, and this topic is addressed in the lecture on Good and Evil. For now, suffice it to say that evil does exist in the world, for whatever reason, and we as Jedi must learn how to deal with it effectively.
What is the role of a Jedi?
We as Jedi dedicate ourselves and our gifts to the service of the Light – to help others, to defend the innocent and serve as guardians of justice and peace. Sounds lofty, yes, but we live our Code day by day in the smallest of actions, using our talents as best we can: feeding the hungry, healing those who are ill (in whatever manner), teaching, counseling, providing social service resources, fighting for causes we believe in a variety of forums, defending our country, protecting and defending the innocent from crime and injustice. It is easy, with this burden of altruism that we place on ourselves, to become blinded with our own idealism, and this is a pitfall that many Jedi students face. It is easy for beginning students coming in, especially those younger ones who have not the benefit of experience, to see themselves as swashbuckling heroes who will smash evil Sith and restore peace and harmony to the world. The Star Wars paradigm we use here at the Force Academy is a good bridge to span the gap between fiction and reality – but it is just that. A bridge. And one which each Jedi student must cross at some point.
The line between good and evil, light and dark, can range from situations of national importance to the simple choice of what to do in a given situation. It is often vague, unclear, very, very narrow, and is always defined by motivation and intent. Things are not always clear cut. Those who study ethics know that stealing and killing is considered wrong, both morally and legally. Yet what of the person who steals to feed his or her family, or to buy medicine, or to obtain medical care? What of the person who kills another in self-defense, or in an accident? There are always extenuating circumstances to be considered, and we Jedi, if we are to act wisely, must take them into account.
Why do bad things happen to good people?
Entire books have been written on this subject and this topic is a deep, complicated one which raises several pertinent issues. For now, let’s look at the template of our lives as set forth in the Destiny vs. Free Will lecture. We all come to Earth to learn, to grow and to develop spiritually, to develop a closer relationship with the Divine. To that end, we choose the life experiences that we have, we bond with those who are to help us as family and friends – and even choose the manner of our deaths. Pain is a part of being human, yet we accept this pain because in the cosmic scheme of things, this life is but a moment, and the benefits of growth are well worth the cost. That is the template, our destiny, within which we live.
However, free will has a part to play in this as well. We all choose our actions, all the time. If the template is the tree, the choices we make are the branches and leaves on the tree – and we climb toward the Divine and develop spiritually or we climb down the tree and away from the Divine. Everything is interconnected within the Force, we know – and the actions of one person affects many others. Our words and actions have great power – power in this case to boost another up their tree or to knock that person or persons off a branch or two (or in extreme cases, off the tree altogether).
What can a Jedi do to survive in a less than perfect world?
Well, for starters, we can accept the fact that it is imperfect, that there is evil in the world and be on our guard against those who would do us harm. Along with that, we must realize that there is no way to completely rid the world from evil, nor would that be a wise course of action were it possible. Evil has a role to play in this world, as do all things. All we can do is to stand firm against it and do good whenever possible, countering the negative energy with the positive energy of our actions.
How do we recognize deceptions and traps?
Setting a B.S. meter and being mindful
It does no harm to “feel out” a questionable situation. Ask questions. Gain a sense of what is going on. Keep an open mind. And trust your feelings. It is perfectly all right to find yourself in a situation where you find out, after asking questions and “feeling” the person out, that he/she is full of it. Some may be attention seekers. Others may have a rather slippery grasp on reality. Some may be out for a fight with the first available likely candidate. The first instinct of a Jedi is to jump in and save the day. And indeed a common misperception of the Jedi are that we are vulnerably good-hearted (i.e. weak). Jedi are good-hearted, but we are not vulnerable. We know when our help is needed and when it is not. And we know we cannot help everyone. There is no shame in dropping or turning away from situations such as those described above. Thus we show the wisdom and strength of the Jedi.
Now, this does not mean leaving a potentially volatile situation if people are engaged in conflict. We have addressed conflict resolution and peacekeeping in another lecture, and will not go into it here. One of the duties of a Jedi is to uphold justice and keep the peace. And we do not shirk from our duty, hard though it might sometimes be. What do we do? Use the following as a guide. But remember a Jedi’s strength flows from the Force, and we are guided by it. Trust your feelings, your Force instinct.
If a combative situation develops: Defuse the conflict if possible. This means diverting negative energies to where they dissipate, bringing the level of tension down to where moderation can occur. Humor is a very good tool to use here, as well as distraction. If the conflict cannot be defused, get help from a higher authority – i.e. a Knight or Master, who can come in and arbitrate.
If no combative situation exists, yet intervention is needed (for cases of depression, healing needs or another one-on-one situation): Offer to help. If the person agrees, counsel, heal, or listen as best you can. Again, trust your feelings. And if the situation becomes more than you can handle, seek help from a Knight or a Master. If the person does not accept your help, leave the door for communication open, even if the person is “full of it”. They will remember this as a kindness and when real trouble occurs, their chances of coming to you are good. And you will have acted wisely in accordance with your duty.
To sum up: yes, there is a lot of evil in the world. Yes, there are people out whose motives and intentions are somewhat less altruistic than yours might be. Yes, there are those who wish to do you harm. And we must be aware of this, prepared for it and mindful of our actions. But we as Jedi have the power to do great good, and there are many opportunities for this as well. Our wisdom and strength flows from the Force, and we trust our feelings to guide us in wise speech and actions to deal effectively with potentially dangerous situations.
May the Force be with you and may you rest in the love and care of the Divine.