Sithism

I found this topic rather fascinating, and I think that if we are to know ourselves we must know our counterparts as well. The ying and the yang in balance. It is through comparison that we gain a true understanding on the context. I have not studied the Sith extensively except in popular video game culture, so I will do some of my own research on Sithism in the future so that I may better understand it from an observer's point of view.

What I do understand about the philosophy, and this correlates with Vesha's post, is that the Sith are trying to direct their passions. Using the Ego, they are self assured, confident, and deadly masters in their chosen craft or profession. This could range from a boxer to a businessman. Unlike Jedi, they seem to be willing to make calculated sacrifices to achieve goals. This doesnt have to be through death, though it could be. It could also be a sacrifice of friendships, or morality, or materials to grant victory.

I play Chess so I need to make a metaphor. The Sith are Garry Kasparov and the Jedi are Anatoly Karpov. Both can be decisive in action, but the means through which they achieve results differs greatly.

If I may make a suggestion Radar, the TOTJO has a rather decent library from which to draw inspiration and reference from both paths, less Sithism more Jediism (easily understood of course why that is). There are a few books within our library that you may wish to pay special attention to when doing your research; the Grand Book of the Sith and the Jedi Holocron are good to start out with from the force perspective, (the latter including Robert Greene's 48 Laws of Power). I would round out a study on Modern Sithism with the Book of Five Rings by Myamoto Musashi, the Art of War by Sun Tzu, the Satanic Bible by Anton LaVey, the Will to Power by Friedrich Nietzsche, the Virtue of Selfishness by Ayan Rand and the Prince by Niccolò Machiavelli. The last two books I have on dropbox, pm me if you are interested in reading them.

Ive criss-crossed the line between the classic light/dark, jedi/sith a few times in my life...

Basically, like any fiction, take it with a grain of salt...

I'm sorry I think this dark/light jedi/sith stuff is crapolla. We all have a light and dark side equally. What you choose to believe and act upon is...well your choice but in the big picture and the long run...it's all about the Ying and the Yang, balance baby.

I have a dark side. I know it can be energizing and make me feel powerfull. I also know it's draining and distructive. I choose light and positive while acknowledging the dark. To ignor the dark is folly. To go to extreems either way if folly as well and can be equally distructive.

What is important to me is I try to do the right things and when I don't I forgive myself and go on, hopefully better for the experance. Light/dark, right/wrong, cold/hot , sky/earth, that's not what is important. What is important is what you do with what you got!

I am now stepping off the soap box.

Peace

we have several hundred million years of physiological history hardwired into our dna

the reason that the ideals of being unselfish, honest, courageous, generous, forgiving, loyal, humble and basically the different ideas which work together to make up the overall concept of NOBLE are valued and praised across the board by all cultures everywhere under every form of social organization from tribes to empires, is because they work

they are healthy
and they bring strength and prosperity to individuals and to communities and to nations

the opposing attributes of selfishness, manipulation, slyness, fearfulness, resentment and revenge, contemptuousness, arrogance

these are all seen as weaknesses and as obstacles to personal development and to societal advancement

theyre unhealthy
they create hell

its not an issue of being goody goody babies with no sense of self worth - its actually the opposite - people who identify with the first set of principles and actually make real effort to live by them, develop as a general rule, a much more resilient and effective sense of their own worth than those who focus on the second set

they also tend to do much better socially in every way - although admittedly POLITICS is an area that needs constant citizen monitoring and participation otherwise the rats take over - which to a great extent they have, especially lately - but even so, in the final analysis, representative governments, genuinely devoted to the representation of the people and the well being of the nation as a whole (in other words, honest and uselfish representation) always produces healthier and more effective societies than any other type of social organization

its a pretty simple formula really

freedom is a basic human demand - a life demand

all things feel themselves to be inherently free within the contexts of their existence (paradoxical in a way but still true)

we all know we should be allowed to live and pursue our own betterment and for the most part by our own judgement/without excessive regulation on our own personal decisions

freedom

this has always been a basic demand of individuals even when it wasnt precisely articulated as such

but the more the people are free the more power theyre going to have

so a society of selfish, cowardly people who manipulate and lie to each other and have no loyalty and despise one another is a society that becomes hell

it falls apart if it isnt invaded and overun

so governments have to impose stricter and stricter measures

but the people in the government end up being the same as the ones theyre imposing measures on and so instead of making things better they pass laws and make policies ultimately for their own benefit, which has the same effect of creating hell and fracturing the nation

whereas when a society is made up of people who value courage and honesty and unselfishness and forgiveness amd humility, flourishes and is much more difficult to defeat or to fracture

this is not some kind of religious propoganda, this is human psycho-physiology

its the development of human culture and im sorry if this seems rude but its really not a debate anymore

these things have been understood and accepted for hundreds of thousands of years, even if they arent always lived up to by the ones who try to reject them and thus create the hells which come as a result

Zenchi wrote: If I may make a suggestion Radar, the TOTJO has a rather decent library from which to draw inspiration and reference from both paths, less Sithism more Jediism (easily understood of course why that is). There are a few books within our library that you may wish to pay special attention to when doing your research; the Grand Book of the Sith and the Jedi Holocron are good to start out with from the force perspective, (the latter including Robert Greene's 48 Laws of Power). I would round out a study on Modern Sithism with the Book of Five Rings by Myamoto Musashi, the Art of War by Sun Tzu, the Satanic Bible by Anton LaVey, the Will to Power by Friedrich Nietzsche, the Virtue of Selfishness by Ayan Rand and the Prince by Niccolò Machiavelli. The last two books I have on dropbox, pm me if you are interested in reading them.

Good book suggestions! I have read 48 Laws of Power (and 33 Strategies of War!), the Book of Five Rings (given to me by my grandfather), and the Art of War. The others I have not read and I will check out. Thank you very much.

To be honest:

Mastery, by Robert Greene, is the best book I've read on the subject. I prescribe it to all my Jedi students.

Question, why is it that whenever someone suggests reading material in regards to sithism or even mentions something other than the obvious, someone always becomes offended and has to attack it? If it works for you, great, but if it doesn't, and there were no derogatory remarks made in the Initial post, honestly, why the negative remarks?

heres a question - what has been said here at this point today that is an attack or is a negative remark?

because lets be honest here - saying that lying and manipulating people is a bad social strategy is not an attack or a negative remark

lying and manipulating people might be seen as an attack on someone or as a negative thing to do

however, pointing out the difference between the two is called maturity and social responsibility, and it works the same for everyone

other than that im not sure what you might be referring to in the context of this thread

but i can see why it would be irritating that every time you try to have a public discussion on the benefits of social manipulation and deceit
some do gooder comes along and says "hey thats a bad idea"

im sure it gets old, so i will try to leave it alone for a while

I have to agree with ob1shinobi Sith want power and will harm anyone which happens to be in their path to get it.