Discussion: Thoughts on The Balance

I am interested to see if anybody has read and has any thoughts on The Balance. A copy is the library philosophy section. Do you have any thoughts on it? Questions perhaps?

Reminds me of the Cosmic Balance.

Jaydon began following this round about Year 6. Built a city on what was Adumar, now Delrakkin, Hestia at 5,3 that was utilized as a refuge for escaped slaves. A temple was buildt there that was dedicated to the Balance and as far as I know still exits there :



Cosmic Balance.
This belief system posits that for every positive in the galaxy, there is a negative; that one person's success must come at the price of another's failure. Affluence was offset by poverty, and the strength and power of someone like a Jedi Knight came at the cost of depriving another.

The symbol of the Cosmic Balance was a half-black, half-white ring; it was customary for adherants of the faith to pendants of this symbol, usually on necklaces.

The followers of the Cosmic Balance believe that every action in the universe has an equal and opposite reaction elsewhere. If someone has good luck, then elsewhere, someone would have an equal amount of bad luck. If two people fell in love, elsewhere two lovers were separated. If one person found three credits, then three other people would lose a credit each.The concept of pruning excess spikes off of cloudberries being necessary for agreeable fruit was used as a allusion for followers of the Cosmic Balance.

Rule of Feather and Bowl
According to the Cosmic Balance and the leadership of the Kurtzen, the Rule of Feather and Bowl was established to ensure the balance of the galaxy was maintained at the level of individual families. Families who worshipped the Cosmic Balance strived to have their children in pairs, as befitting an even-numbered - and, thus, balanced - family unit. During their teenage years, the two children were given aptitude tests. The more promising child received a white feather, while the other received a golden bowl. The so-called Child of the Bowl was then placed in a communal Simple Home, while the Child of the Feather remained in the Bakuran society and received educational funding from the Zanazi.

The Bowl
This symbol of the Cosmic Balance religion indicated a follower who lived in poverty during their life. The Bowl stood in opposition to - or in balance with - The Feather. The choice of which members of each generation held the Bowl was often made by parents, with the help of the Kurtzen, and was governed by the Rule of Feather and Bowl. One child from each family pair - the so-called Child of the Bowl - was chosen to receive the Bowl, and was forced to leave Bakuran society and live in a communal Simple Home for the rest of their lives. However, as demanded by the Cosmic Balance, each Child of the Bowl would get to spend their afterlife living in relative wealth in order to maintain the balance of the universe.

The Feather
This white feather was a symbol of the Cosmic Balance religion, and indicated a follower who lived in wealth during their life. It stood in opposition of - or balanced with - The Bowl. This children were deemed worthy of holding The Feather were provided with educational funding by the Kurtzen, and often became leaders of industry and govnerment, if not the religion itself. The choice of which members of each generation held the Feather was often made by parents, with the help of the Kurtzen, under the Rule of Feather and Bowl. However, as demanded by the Cosmic Balance, each so-called Child of the Feather would have to spend their afterlife living in poverty in order to maintain the balance of the universe.

Child of the Feather
According to the religion of the Cosmic Balance, families were required to have children in pairs, in order to help maintain the balance of the galaxy. Under the Rule of Feather and Bowl, each pair of children was given an aptitude test during their teenage years, with the more-promising child being given a white feather. Then known as a Child of the Feather, the teenager was allowed to remain in the Bakuran society and received educational funding from the Kurtzen. This balanced out the relative poverty experienced by the Child of the Bowl. However, the Child of the Feather could look forward to living in relative poverty in the afterlife, thereby ensuring the continued balance of the galaxy.

Child of the Bowl
The Child of the Bowl left home to join a communal Simple Home, serving the Zanazi, often seen as the weak, or not as promising child. Some Children of the Bowl left the Faith, but most submitted to a lifetime of service.

How very interesting. Is this a culture that is still practiced?

I think the main difference here is the ways in which each Balance is adopted. The Cosmic Balance seems more about the practical balance, the physical, the literal. Cor's Balance (lets call it for the sake of clarity) is more of the theoretical balance, more a of tool to make one think, question one's thoughts, beliefs and ultimately I guess, actions. But it is not to be taken literally, it isn't saying that if you give birth to a child, a person will die, but more that because there is creation, there must also be destruction, otherwise one could not define it.

The Cosmic Balance, what little I have just read of it, seems to me slightly misguided in it's practice in that it calls for one to undertake both positive and negative actions in order to maintain balance. In my opinion, and the teaching of The Balance says,(as arrogant as the name sounds now) that should we push everything to be positive, there would be no negative, which would ultimately mean positive would lose its meaning and simply just be, returning the force to centre and maintaining the balance.

Interesting non the less. Have you considered posting this for Library Submission, if you have any further information, perhaps quotes or teachings of the Cosmic Balance. A picture of the symbol?

Its fallen into obscurity for the most part. It arose on Bakura before the current Galactic configuration.

There are those who hold a very strict interpretation that every action has a reaction and thus closely monitor their actions. Personally I'm somewhere in between. On the one hand I have seen that great suffering in some places of the Galaxy results in great happiness in others. Although I do remain in doubt as to whether or not events can be influenced.

The one thing that holds my attention is the idea of Balance and pruning the excesses away to encourage that Balance.

I can certainly see merit in that way of thinking, though I can also see negatives. Can we assure Balance by our actions? Is true balance something that can be controlled? Im not sure if it is and perhaps the soul is either balanced, or it is not. Your actions dont dictate your own balance, only your mind and soul can do that?

I use questions marks throughout to show I do not make statements here, but open the questions out.

We can assure Balance in our own lives and vicinity certainly. Beyond our own lives, again I am not so sure.

Personally I think that your mind/soul is that thing that you need to Balance the most not merely your actions. Does merely thinking neutrally make your action neutral?