Jedi: Encyclopedia II - Jedi - The Force

Jedi - The Force

The Force is an energy field that is generated by all living organisms and permeates the universe and all things within. It is clearly indebted to the concept of chi and the Od of Baron Carl Reichenbach. Its principles resemble some real-world religions like Hinduism, the Shinto religion of Japan, certain Celtic druidic concepts, Islamic theological ideas, and certain tenets of ascetic and mystic Christianity. Dick Staub, author of Christian Wisdom of the Jedi Masters, in an interview with Christianity Today magazine, said "the Lucas story is more theologically attuned with Hinduism". On his own admission George Lucas has clearly been influenced by Indian religion in his writing of the Star Wars saga. It also bears a close similarity to the Chinese notion of qigong, the Hindu notion of Brahman, and many others. The earliest description of this "energy field" would be akin to that of pran, of which pranayama is a systematic practice originating in India and a part of yoga (which predates, and is the basis for, Chinese martial arts). The Force is subject to control by anyone who is "Force Sensitive". An individual who can control the force can perform incredible feats such as telekinesis and telepathy.

This life-force is known in China as qi or chi and in India, prana. A belief in a life-force is most commonly seen in the east, practised by Buddhists, Taoists, Confucianists, and Hindus.

Jedi - Inspirations Behind The Force

Chi powers in the Chinese wuxia genre, giving the wielder great skill in combat, premonitions, and strike foes without touching using an invisible force. Isaac Asimov's Foundation series features several varieties of empaths and telepaths who can detect and influence human emotion. One such group, the Second Foundation, believes itself the guardians of the Galaxy, and the Second Foundationers strive to prevent Galactic civilization's collapse into anarchy. In this respect, the Second Foundationers resemble the Jedi Knights, although Asimov's paternalistic guardians are not telekinetic. Many years after he invented the Second Foundation, Asimov did introduce "mentalics" who could also manipulate physical objects; these play a large role in his novels Foundation's Edge and Foundation and Earth. Being an avowed humanist, Asimov did not indulge in light/dark moralizing, and he took pride in constructing villains who believed themselves just and heroes afflicted by their own dilemmas. (See the essays reprinted in Gold for Asimov's exposition of these views). Though the Solarians and the Gaians can manipulate objects and minds much like the Jedi, Asimov's mentalics are not divided into light and dark sides, nor do they have the power of prophecy. In Asimov's fiction, predicting the future requires either intuition or psychohistory. Asimov's influence on the Star Wars universe has been frequently noted, one example being the debt Coruscant owes to Asimov's Trantor. Many of the Force powers Jedi use are very similar to the ones the Bene Gesserit of Frank Herbert's Dune use, most notably Jedi Mind Tricks, which are very similar to the Voice used by the Bene Gesserit.

As explained in the movie Star Wars Episode I: The Phantom Menace, Jedi get their ability to understand the Force from symbiotic organisms within their bodies called midi-chlorians (an obvious play on mitochondrion and chloroplast). Also known as "the messengers of life," these organisms allow a Jedi to "hear the Force," and it is said that "without them life could not exist" (this statement appears to contradict the Expanded Universe, which depicts the Yuuzhan Vong as completely separate from the Force, but the discrepancy is explained late in the New Jedi Order series). The higher the midi-chlorian count in their cells, the stronger the Force is with the particular individual. Their presence could be somehow sensed by other Jedi. Anakin Skywalker had a reading which was even higher than Master Yoda's, leading many, most notably Qui-Gon Jinn, to believe Anakin to be the prophesied "Chosen One."

Adapted from the Wikipedia article "The Force", under the G.N U Free Docmentation License. Please also see http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki