Not long ago I read a description of the Force on Forbes. Derived from the scenes shown in The Last Jedi the author concluded that “The Force is the energy that flows through the cosmic ecosystem” (Chamary, 2018). Thinking back to those scenes I had to ask myself: What exactly is the responsibility of the Jedi to the environment?
Since I do not read much of the books, I could not honestly tell you if there is an answer to this question. But I can point out that the trilogy films are not particularly forth-coming in an answer. The Jedi tend to interact with their environment only in how much it affects the people. So in some regard we could turn to this for our answer- that by working on what we can do to protect our environment, we are actually just helping mankind survive. But in Star Wars Rebels, there does seem to be a more direct answer to this question.
In Star Wars Rebels, part of Ezra Bridger’s training requires him to connect with animals. Time and time again we see how Ezra grows with this power, and how the animals respond to his and Kanan’s emotions. If there is one constant theme throughout the series as it pertains to the Force itself, it’s that we are connected with nature, and they are connected with us. On some level, they are more connected with us, than we are them. They don’t need to match our skill to sense what the Force has to say about us- they know it and react in kind to it. Such is the case with the Krykna that sense fear and come caving in it’s frightened prey. In another episode, we see that Ezra finds his way to communicating with a creature that is desperately reaching out to ask for help to take out an imperial stronghold that threatens it’s very existence. Ezra finds that between the animals he encounters and his own goals- they share a common goal towards the preservation of what is natural. This theme of our connection to the environment can be found across multiple religions.
The Abrahamic traditions make a point in the first chapters of Genesis to tell us that man is given a place of dominion over the earth. In chapter one we are given dominion over the animals, we are told “to multiply, replenish the earth and subdue it” (Genesis 1:28). This subdue seems a bit harsh, even in the Hebrew (kabash- to dominate), but if we take into consideration the importance of keeping balance of life in all things, “subdue” may more appropriately imply that the reason we were created was in order to maintain the Earth itself. In chapter 2 man is said to have been given a second task- to till the earth. Not only does this divine purpose help to maintain man themselves, but it also contributes to maintain the health of ecosystem.
Where Abrahamic traditions tell us that God was counting on us to maintain the Earth He created, Native American traditions seem to have a different take on the subject. For example, in the Muskogee tradition, man was not created to be over animals, but instead to become the adopted children of animals. In this story, the Creator made animals for the Earth. While they were enjoying everything the Creator gave them, they felt they were missing something and complained that they had no purpose. To give them purpose, the Creator created man. But man go greedy, and began making demands of the animals. When finally, man snapped and took what he wanted by force. Angry at this, the Creator threatened to take all the animals to the spirit world so man could not harm them any longer. But the animals loved the humans they had been given to teach, and made a request on their behalf that this deed not be done. The Creator found another way, and took away the ability of man and animal to communicate readily and made animals to fear man so they would not be so easily killed. But to maintain the relationship that animals and man once shared, the Creator established spirit animals to continue as a role model and guide to them.
The idea of animal guides isn’t limited to the Native Americans. In India, the tradition of holy animals follows after the belief that they represented gods in their own right. The Egyptian gods were marked by their own resemblance of animals and some as humans, placing man and certain animals as equal in creation. In Japan we see this again, in the form of animals being the servants of specific gods, such as Inari and the fox or Byakko (a diety adopted from China) who is a White Tiger. In Africa, animals are shown to have helped man learn things that it needed as well, such as the preying mantis that taught them speech and how to build a fire (San Bushman) or the antelope which taught agriculture (Mali).
Though animals are a part of this, we cannot forget traditions that explain the value of plants. This might be mostly recognized in the Druidic traditions which tell us that plants are sacred and are used as teachers or signs of the times.
Throughout the world, religions teach that our environment is not only an integral part of who we are, it is the reason we live. Either to maintain it, or to learn from it. If we look to the story of Ezra Bridger in Star Wars Rebels, we can see these same themes woven into the script. And with this new found understanding, it brings us to the answer to this question of whether or not Jedi have a responsibility to maintain the environment. One we can see as not only told to us by our wealth of ancestors, but also expressed to us by the Skywalker Jedi Code in the LucasFilms fiction:
“Jedi respect all life, in any form.”
Citations
Chamary, J. (2018). ’Star Wars: The Last Jedi’ Finally Explains The Force. Retrieved from https://www.forbes.com/sites/jvchamary/2018/01/06/star-wars-last-jedi-force/#4787c60a7a32
We encourage you to also read what our friends have to say in honor of Earth Day (will be updated as needed over 22-23 April 2018):
https://yourwayoftheforce.com/2018/04/22/earth-day-plastic-soup-ways-of-the-force/
https://j-jedicodex.blogspot.com/2018/04/appreciation-of-our-mother.html