Dark Side VS Light Side
LUKE: Is the dark side stronger?
YODA: No...no...no. Quicker, easier, more seductive.
LUKE: But how am I to know the good side from the bad?
YODA: You will know. When you are calm, at peace,
passive. -Episode V
There are some great Jedi lessons in these few lines.
First of all Yoda teaches us that the dark side of the
Force (or the dark side of one’s self) is not stronger
than the light side. But the dark side it is easier,
quicker and more seductive. For example, it’s easier
to get angry if someone insults you than to stay calm
and at peace with yourself. That’s just how it is.
How can we tell the difference between the light side
and the dark side? Yoda explained that you will know
that you are with the light side because you will be
at peace with yourself, calm and passive. A Jedi
should base his/her decisions and actions on this
test.
The opposite is true with the dark side: you won’t be
at peace with yourself. You will be mentally agitated.
You will tend to be aggressive. You will also know
that it’s the dark side because it will be easier,
quicker and more seductive. It may be easier to tell a
lie than tell the truth, or to cheat or steal than to
earn an honest living, but you won’t be at peace with
it.
You will not be at peace with yourself when you are
full of anger or rage either. It may take you hours or
days to calm down again. You may just have a temporary
slip to the dark side. Catch it and correct it
immediately. Try to ‘nip it in the bud’ before it
becomes a habit or obsession. You have to confront
this anger and challenge it. Find its roots within
yourself and remove them.
It’s the same with fear. Are you at peace with
yourself when you have fear? Or when you are greedy?
Or when you are jealous? You have to make a choice:
either you control the dark side emotions or they will
control you.
The only good is knowledge and the only evil is ignorance
Socrates
