Immortality Through The Force

Last night I watched ROTJ and Yoda's last conversation presented an interesting theory. The conversation went like so:

Luke: "Master Yoda, you can't die."

Yoda: "Strong I am with the Force, but not that strong."

This gave me the idea that Yoda must have known that by use of the Force, immortality can be gained. But how would he know this? Did he know of one who had achieved such immortality? Or was it rather a legend he had heard of from his master, or other fellow masters, surely at one time something would've had to have been discovered close to this. Palpatine himself stated that Plagieus the Wise had discovered the secret to manipulating midichlorians into life, but surely they would've kept this secret from the Jedi, knowing that if this secret were to leake out, the Sith would lose a very valuable knowledge.

 

Qui-Gon Jinn taught him...there was supposed to be a scene in ROTS where Wui-Gon would appear to Yoda, but in the end it turned into a brief conversation where Yoda told Obi-Wan that Qui-Gon had discovered immortality.

I'm not entirely sure, but I think the script for the film said that Yoda found a book by one of the Shaman of the Whills or something that held the key to immortality.

 

A common mistake that fans make is to confuse what the Jedi and Sith were looking for in ROTS.

The Sith were after the power to live longer, as in, still live in the material world for an extended period of time.

The Jedi immortality was to have no thought of self, and actually merge with The Force - this is what Jinn, Kenobi, Yoda and later Anakin achieved.

So while the Sith were after the ability to cheat death, the Jedi were after true selfless immortality

Hope i've explained that OK

 

What Yoda is saying is that no one can stop death from happening. Death is a natural part of life and to try and defy that is impossible. Yoda doesn't want Luke to believe that it is possible like Anakin did.

 

As an aside I wondered with all the real research into longevity going on why there would not be longevity in the GFFA. Obviously it is because it is not an issue from a storytelling standpoint. But I would think if there was some sort of retcon to insert it might be that the presense of midichlorians prevents extensive tampering with the denziens of that galaxy. Cloning? Sure. Rapidly healed wounds? Yep. Extending a decades long lifespan to a centuries long lifespan? Nope. So the Sith sought to cheat death through the manipulation of the midi's since perhaps the midi's themselves prevented longevity naturally. Just a thought.

 

Indeed. In light of the PT, this conversation does become more striking.

Carnage

 

I like to think that Yoda was making one last joke w/ that line.

 

Also a possibility, I find OT Yoda much more humorous than PT Yoda, I am not sure why this would be so though.
Maybe he is senile from the solitude on Dagobah!
Any way around it though, I laugh everytime I see Yoda and Artoo fighting over the lamp in ROTJ!

 

PT Yoda is basically the "leader" (I know, there was no leader and he was just a Council member...but his wisdom was the most likely to be heeded) of a group of several thousand powerful force users throughout the galaxy. He has a Temple to upkeep, Logistic problems to Solve, Diplomatic missions to plan, Political ideology to consider, Padawans to train, and Darksiders to worry about. He had a lot more on his plate and took himself maybe a bit too seriously.

OT Yoda was a guy with precisely one thing to do, hang around, meditate, and wait untill the force gave him a sign to unleash the heirs of Skywalker against the Sith. I'm sure there were some really intense periods of thought and training with Qui-Gon, but there certainly was time to relax, explore this strange planet full of life, and reflect on past friends and deeds. It's the difference between a guy working a tough job and making tough decisions....being all serious and stuff. Come retirement, this same person is probably going to be more laid back.

Carange

 

I can attest to that. One of my great-uncles has been in the Canadian military for over forty years, serving in the PeaceCorp and the like. But you wouldn't be able to tell from his ever-jovial personality. He may be an exception to the norm, but he may be one of the most laid back people I have ever known. He always has a joke for his friends, or a magic trick for the kids.

Although I've never seen him wrestle with random machinery over a flashlight.

 

Yep.