In the George Lucas six episode Star Wars series, only two Jedi are confirmed to have vanished instantaneously upon death: Master Yoda and Master Kenobi. Have you ever wondered why? While there is no direct explanation in the films, I have some ideas that originate from the levels of consciousness among other philosophical ideas.

Qui-Gon Jinn

In Star Wars Episode I: The Phantom Menace, Qui-Gon Jinn dies by the saber of Darth Maul. He does not die instantly, as Obi-Wan is able to speak with him briefly before he passes. However, the camera pans out and we see Obi-Wan crying while holding his master. Did he die while the scene was still on screen or was it slightly after? For purposes of this post, we will assume he died while we could still see him in the scene. Why did he not vanish? This is a question I’ve thought a lot about. We see Kenobi vanish in Episode IV and Yoda in Episode VI, but Jinn does not follow suit. Well, Jinn does not start the trend. He technically died before Kenobi and Yoda in the Star Wars timeline because this is Episode I but it was really after because Episode I was made after Episode IV and Episode VI.

One theory is that those with a higher level of attachment to form, or the world of form, remain in the physical body longer. They may be physically dead, but their essence does not leave the body immediately. Qui-Gon Jinn had at least one strong attachment: he wanted to see Anakin Skywalker be trained as a Jedi Knight. He had a strong attachment to the idea that this boy he had just met was the “chosen one.” Defying the council’s wisdom that Anakin’s future was cloudy but also concerning given the level of fear the young boy already possessed.

It’s the last thing Jinn says, “train him.” Did he will himself to stay alive to tell Obi-Wan this since he knew the council was unanimously against training Anakin? Was this desire enough to prolong his departure from his physical body? Qui-Gon Jinn eventually becomes a force ghost and appears to Obi-Wan outside of the six episode storyline. He does ascend but it takes him longer.

Jedi Lost in Order 66

After Anakin falls to the dark side and becomes Darth Vader, Sith Lord Palpatine commands the clone troops to execute order 66. This is the pre-programmed order to wipe out all Jedi in one fell swoop. We see several Jedi perish on screen but there are two I will focus on: Master Ki Adi Mundi and Master Aayla Secura. While others die in Episode III, these are the two that are spotlighted enough to analyze.

Master Ki Adi Mundi is riddled with blasters from his clone trooper escorts unexpectedly. You can see the disbelief and fear in his eyes as they come to an abrupt holt and raise their weapons on him. We know from the levels of consciousness that fear is on the low end.

1. Enlightenment – Yoda
2. Peace – Obi-Wan Kenobi
3. Joy
4. Love – Vader/Anakin after he saves Luke in Episode VI
5. Reason
6. Acceptance – Luke while he is attacked by Palpatine
7. Neutrality
8. Courage – Mace Windu
9. Pride – Qui-Gon Jinn
10. Anger
11. Desire
12. Fear – Ki Adi Mundi and Aayla Secura
13. Grief
14. Apathy
15. Guilt – Darth Vader after Windu’s death
16. Shame – Darth Vader after Padme’s death

Given that this attack was a shock, it is understandable that both Ki Adi Mundi and Aayla Secura would have dropped into a Fear state, if only briefly. This was not their primary state by any means, but was the state they perished in the body. Other Jedi are killed in this scene, but the visuals do not show whether or not they instantly left their body. In the wrap up of Order 66, we also see a young padawan boy fending off some cloners before he is killed as well. We see his body on the ground. He was just starting out in his training as a Jedi so it is likely that his level of consciousness was on the lower end. How high does one need to be on this list to achieve vanishing? Well, according to events as documented in the six episode series, Peace or Enlightenment is required. Which brings us to Obi-Wan Kenobi and Yoda.

Willing Surrender: Obi-Wan Kenobi

In Episode IV, Obi-Wan Kenobi voluntarily lays his life down. Why does he do this? There are a couple reasons. One, he knew it was necessary to assist in the rebellion’s fight against the empire. Two, he followed to an extreme extent the parable in the Bible about willingly giving what someone desperately wants from you. Mark 5:40 illustrates this example with clothing. Give not only your shirt but your coat as well. Vader desperately wanted his former master dead and Obi-Wan Kenobi had lived his life. Luke had gotten to an age where watching over him was no longer necessary. He was getting older and felt his purpose had been achieved. Obi-Wan Kenobi was at peace with where his life was in the present. Despite all of the hardships he experienced and witnessed, his inner state reflected an energetic frequency of peace.

The smile on his face suggests a thought of, “you can take my life, I lay it down willingly.” For Vader, it meant much more to kill Obi-Wan than it did to Obi-Wan to stay in this form. Obi-Wan already knew of a path to immortality, having communed with Qui-Gon Jinn in the Kenobi series. There was no fear in losing his body and it helped Luke and his friends escape.

Yoda as the Grand Master of Enlightenment

When Luke goes to visit Yoda to complete his training in Episode VI, Yoda is nearing death at almost 900 years old. He has experienced centuries of events that could have lowered him out of the highest stage of consciousness, of Enlightenment. Why does he get the level of Enlightenment? In the George Lucas six episodes, he is the most ascended master. Yoda never falters in the face of temptations to descend into lower levels. He maintains his inner state when the Republic falls. When he feels the force swing violently to the dark side. When Luke positions himself against the spirit of wisdom. All through this Yoda remains steadfastly in Enlightenment. Endlessly patient, calm, and at peace. We only see him visit Grief briefly, after he fails to destroy Palpatine in Episode III. “Failed, I have” he exclaims with despair after the duel.

Speculation on Mace Windu

When Anakin cuts off Windu’s hand and Palpatine electrocutes him to death, we do not see Windu’s body. He is thrown violently from the heights of Palpatine’s office. While we do not know for sure, I would guess that Windu did not vanish. He was in a state of Courage when he took on Palpatine. In terms of consciousness, this is where the hellish and heavenly levels are divided. Given that Love was not even high enough to cause Anakin to vanish, we can infer that Courage would not be either. However, there is a powerful caveat to Anakin’s death state. He rose very quickly from the depths of Shame to the heights of Love. This shows us we are always just one choice away from shifting a level, or many levels at once. In Windu’s case, outside of the six episodic storyline, I know a little about his fighting style. It was chosen specifically for him because it was the one least risky to be taken over by the dark side. Anakin even refers to Master Windu as one of, if not the, most powerful Jedi Masters in Episode II. This could be why Windu had a particular suspicion of Anakin from the beginning, he sensed Anakin’s tendency to tilt towards darkness like himself.

Vader to Skywalker: From Shame to Love

When Vader saves Luke at the end of Episode VI, he occupies the frequency of Love. While he had spent decades in the frequency of Shame, this was a powerful reversal at the end of his life. It’s important to remember that Vader’s painful existence was not just physical. It was mental, emotional, and spiritual. Being in excruciating pain is hard enough. He was also carrying the burden of shame, guilt, anger, fear, and grief inside of him. These are the dimensions of hell. They are dense energies that take a tremendous toll on the body as well as the soul, or essence that inhabits the body. When he dies, it follows that he had dense energy to process prior to ascension.

In fact, it could be argued that it took hours for this to occur. Luke took his father’s body back to Endor and burned it. We are led to believe that his physical form was still in tact when Luke burned him. Fire in this sense acts as a purifier. In Episode III, fire was a destroyer. Anakin returned as he left, in fire. While he was already Vader the first time he was burned, it solidified his fate to exist as a shell of himself, in a suit designed to keep him alive physically but dead on every other level.

During the celebrations on Endor, we see Luke look off into the forest to see a trio of force ghosts: Obi-Wan Kenobi, Yoda, and Anakin. In the re-mastered version of Episode VI, we see Anakin as played by Hayden Christensen rather than Sebastian Shaw. Fans were largely split on this decision but I think it was a great change. George Lucas chose to portray Anakin as he looked prior to falling into Vader. Yoda and Obi-Wan Kenobi never left their inner stillness and higher frequencies, so they remained the same as they were upon death. It is a kind of grace Anakin receives to be shown in the form he was prior to his descent into the hellish levels of consciousness.

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