--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: A soldier fights with an irresistible…" description: "\"A soldier fights with an irresistible strength when he has blown up his bridges and burnt his boats. Even so, it is with a soldier of ahimsa.\" — Mahatm..." image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/46c/mahatma-gandhi-23_ahimsa_a-soldier-fights-with-an-irresistible-st_2079379.jpg" --- # A soldier fights with an irresistible strength when he has… ![“A soldier fights with an irresistible strength when he has blown up his bridges and burnt his boats. Even so, it is with a soldier of ahimsa.” quote by Mahatma Gandhi](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/46c/mahatma-gandhi-23_ahimsa_a-soldier-fights-with-an-irresistible-st_2079379.jpg) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/46c/mahatma-gandhi-23_ahimsa_a-soldier-fights-with-an-irresistible-st_2079379.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/46c/mahatma-gandhi-23_ahimsa_a-soldier-fights-with-an-irresistible-st_2079379.jpg) > “A soldier fights with an irresistible strength when he has blown up his bridges and burnt his boats. Even so, it is with a soldier of ahimsa.” [Mahatma Gandhi](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mahatma-gandhi/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. A soldier who destroys his own means of retreat fights with fierce resolve, yet remains non‑violent. **In simple terms:** Destroying bridges fuels fierce, non‑violent resolve. Key Takeaway Embrace commitment without retreat. Themes war non‑violence determination Mood philosophical inspirational Type ethical motivational When to use this quote - conflict - personal resolve - ethical stance Key Concepts ahimsa self‑sacrifice Questions to Reflect On - How does self‑sacrifice affect resolve? - Can one stay non‑violent under pressure? A Different Perspective Non‑violence may limit options. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Ahimsa](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/ahimsa/) [Bridges](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/bridges/) [Soldier](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/soldier/) [Strength](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/strength/) ## Related quotes > [Ahimsa must be placed before everything else while it is professed. Then alone it becomes irresistible.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mahatma-gandhi/ahimsa-must-be-placed-before-everything-else-while-it-is-professed/) [Mahatma Gandhi](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mahatma-gandhi/) > [You will never learn & now I'm gone your bridges have all burnt, I watched you fall and crumble & never know how I loved you.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/you-will-never-learn-now-i-m-gone-your-bridges-have-all-burnt-i/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [I don't regret burning my bridges. I regret that some people weren't on those bridges when I burnt them.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/i-don-t-regret-burning-my-bridges-i-regret-that-some-people-weren-t/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [Money is the sovereign queen of all delights - for her, the lawyer pleads, the soldier fights.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/richard-barnfield/money-is-the-sovereign-queen-of-all-delights-for-her-the-lawyer/) [Richard Barnfield](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/richard-barnfield/) > [The soldier fights unknown face .. gets decorated for killing those who he may not hate individually .. An irony !!](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/amitabh-bachchan/the-soldier-fights-unknown-face-gets-decorated-for-killing-those-who/) [Amitabh Bachchan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/amitabh-bachchan/) > [“She looked into Kirsten's eyes and wondered how it is that a soldier fights and a savior suffers, but a woman, in lying down,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rebecca-coleman/she-looked-into-kirsten-s-eyes-and-wondered-how-it-is-that-a-soldier/) [Rebecca Coleman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rebecca-coleman/) > [“The true soldier fights not because he hates what is in front of him, but because he loves what is behind him. —G. K.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/marcus-luttrell/the-true-soldier-fights-not-because-he-hates-what-is-in-front-of-him-3/) [Marcus Luttrell](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/marcus-luttrell/) > [A Soldier Fights Not Because He Hates The One In Front Of Him.. But Because He Loves The People Behind Him.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anurag-prakash-ray/a-soldier-fights-not-because-he-hates-the-one-in-front-of-him-but/) [Anurag Prakash Ray](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anurag-prakash-ray/) > [The true soldier fights not because he hates what is in front of him, but because he loves what is behind him.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/the-true-soldier-fights-not-because-he-hates-what-is-in-front-of-him-2/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [The soldier who fights to death never dies, but the soldier who fights for existence never truly exists.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/admiral-yi-sun-shin/the-soldier-who-fights-to-death-never-dies-but-the-soldier-who-fights/) Admiral Yi Sun Shin > [“One mark of a great soldier is that he fights on his own terms or fights not at all.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sun-tzu/one-mark-of-a-great-soldier-is-that-he-fights-on-his-own-terms-or/) [Sun Tzu](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sun-tzu/) > [Strictly speaking, no activity and no industry is possible without a certain amount of violence, no matter how little. Even the very process of…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mahatma-gandhi/strictly-speaking-no-activity-and-no-industry-is-possible-without-a/) [Mahatma Gandhi](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mahatma-gandhi/) > [Ahimsa is an attribute of the brave. Cowardice and ahimsa don't go together any more that water and fire.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mahatma-gandhi/ahimsa-is-an-attribute-of-the-brave-cowardice-and-ahimsa-don-t-go/) [Mahatma Gandhi](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mahatma-gandhi/) > [Whatever strength the masses have is due entirely to ahimsa, however imperfect or defective its practice might have been.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mahatma-gandhi/whatever-strength-the-masses-have-is-due-entirely-to-ahimsa-however/) [Mahatma Gandhi](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mahatma-gandhi/) > [Ahimsa can be practiced only towards those that are inferior to you in every way.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mahatma-gandhi/ahimsa-can-be-practiced-only-towards-those-that-are-inferior-to-you/) [Mahatma Gandhi](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mahatma-gandhi/) ## More by Mahatma Gandhi > [I do not want to live at the cost of the life even of a snake. I should let him bite me to death…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mahatma-gandhi/i-do-not-want-to-live-at-the-cost-of-the-life-even-of-a-snake-i/) [Mahatma Gandhi](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mahatma-gandhi/) > [Devotion required by the Gita is no soft-hearted effusiveness.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mahatma-gandhi/devotion-required-by-the-gita-is-no-soft-hearted-effusiveness/) [Mahatma Gandhi](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mahatma-gandhi/) > [No nation being under another nation can accept gifts, and kick at the responsibility attached to those gifts, imposed by the conquering nation.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mahatma-gandhi/no-nation-being-under-another-nation-can-accept-gifts-and-kick-at-the/) [Mahatma Gandhi](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mahatma-gandhi/) > [So long as we fear the outside world, we must cease to think of Swaraj.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mahatma-gandhi/so-long-as-we-fear-the-outside-world-we-must-cease-to-think-of-swaraj/) [Mahatma Gandhi](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mahatma-gandhi/) > [I do not want a kingdom, or heaven; what I want is to remove the trouble of the oppressed, the poor, and the needy.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mahatma-gandhi/i-do-not-want-a-kingdom-or-heaven-what-i-want-is-to-remove-the/) [Mahatma Gandhi](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mahatma-gandhi/) > [Religions are not for separating men from one another, they are meant to bind them.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mahatma-gandhi/religions-are-not-for-separating-men-from-one-another-they-are-meant/) [Mahatma Gandhi](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mahatma-gandhi/) > [I hold flesh-food to be unsuited to our species. We err in copying the lower animal world if we are superior to it.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mahatma-gandhi/i-hold-flesh-food-to-be-unsuited-to-our-species-we-err-in-copying-the/) [Mahatma Gandhi](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mahatma-gandhi/) > [“It was only in South Africa that I got over this shyness, though I never completely overcame it. It was impossible for me to…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mahatma-gandhi/it-was-only-in-south-africa-that-i-got-over-this-shyness-though-i/) [Mahatma Gandhi](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mahatma-gandhi/) > [“Where there is life.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mahatma-gandhi/where-there-is-life/) [Mahatma Gandhi](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mahatma-gandhi/) > [If it was wrong to seek God in a stone, how was it right to seek Him in a book called the Gita, the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mahatma-gandhi/if-it-was-wrong-to-seek-god-in-a-stone-how-was-it-right-to-seek-him/) [Mahatma Gandhi](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mahatma-gandhi/) > [The spirit of democracy cannot be established in the midst of terrorism, whether governmental or popular.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mahatma-gandhi/the-spirit-of-democracy-cannot-be-established-in-the-midst-of/) [Mahatma Gandhi](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mahatma-gandhi/) > [Champions are made from something they have deep inside of them-a desire, a dream, a vison.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mahatma-gandhi/champions-are-made-from-something-they-have-deep-inside-of-them-a/) [Mahatma Gandhi](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mahatma-gandhi/) > [My motto is "Unite now, today if you can; fight if you must. But in every case avoid British intervention."](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mahatma-gandhi/my-motto-is-unite-now-today-if-you-can-fight-if-you-must-but-in-every/) [Mahatma Gandhi](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mahatma-gandhi/) > [I have no disciples, being myself an aspirant after discipleship and in search of a guru.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mahatma-gandhi/i-have-no-disciples-being-myself-an-aspirant-after-discipleship-and/) [Mahatma Gandhi](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mahatma-gandhi/) > [Man becomes not the lord and master of all creation but he is its servant.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mahatma-gandhi/man-becomes-not-the-lord-and-master-of-all-creation-but-he-is-its/) [Mahatma Gandhi](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mahatma-gandhi/) [Explore all 3,284 Mahatma Gandhi quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mahatma-gandhi/) ## More Ahimsa quotes > [Ahimsa can be practiced only towards those that are inferior to you in every way.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mahatma-gandhi/ahimsa-can-be-practiced-only-towards-those-that-are-inferior-to-you/) [Mahatma Gandhi](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mahatma-gandhi/) > [Whatever strength the masses have is due entirely to ahimsa, however imperfect or defective its practice might have been.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mahatma-gandhi/whatever-strength-the-masses-have-is-due-entirely-to-ahimsa-however/) [Mahatma Gandhi](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mahatma-gandhi/) > [Which religion gives the greatest joy to God? That which inspires human beings to practice Ahimsa and compassion to all creatures.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/vallabha-acharya/which-religion-gives-the-greatest-joy-to-god-that-which-inspires/) Vallabha Acharya > [Ahimsa is not mere negative non-injury. It is positive, cosmic love. It is the development of a mental attitude in which hatred is replaced…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sivananda/ahimsa-is-not-mere-negative-non-injury-it-is-positive-cosmic-love-it/) [Sivananda](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sivananda/) > [Ahimsa is an attribute of the brave. Cowardice and ahimsa don't go together any more that water and fire.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mahatma-gandhi/ahimsa-is-an-attribute-of-the-brave-cowardice-and-ahimsa-don-t-go/) [Mahatma Gandhi](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mahatma-gandhi/) > [Strictly speaking, no activity and no industry is possible without a certain amount of violence, no matter how little. Even the very process of…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mahatma-gandhi/strictly-speaking-no-activity-and-no-industry-is-possible-without-a/) [Mahatma Gandhi](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mahatma-gandhi/) > [If our ahimsa is not of the brave but of the weak, and if it will bend the knee before himsa, Gandhism deserves to…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mahatma-gandhi/if-our-ahimsa-is-not-of-the-brave-but-of-the-weak-and-if-it-will-bend/) [Mahatma Gandhi](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mahatma-gandhi/) > [Khadi has been conceived as the foundation and the image of ahimsa. A real khadi-wearer will not utter an untruth. A real khadi-wearer will…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mahatma-gandhi/khadi-has-been-conceived-as-the-foundation-and-the-image-of-ahimsa-a/) [Mahatma Gandhi](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mahatma-gandhi/) > [Dharma is one and one only. Ahimsa means moksha, and moksha is the realization of Truth.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mahatma-gandhi/dharma-is-one-and-one-only-ahimsa-means-moksha-and-moksha-is-the/) [Mahatma Gandhi](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mahatma-gandhi/) > [It is against the spirit of ahimsa to overawe even one person into submission.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mahatma-gandhi/it-is-against-the-spirit-of-ahimsa-to-overawe-even-one-person-into/) [Mahatma Gandhi](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mahatma-gandhi/) > [Hinduism with its message of ahimsa is to me the most glorious religion in the world.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mahatma-gandhi/hinduism-with-its-message-of-ahimsa-is-to-me-the-most-glorious/) [Mahatma Gandhi](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mahatma-gandhi/) > [Ahimsa means infinite love, which again means infinite capacity for suffering.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mahatma-gandhi/ahimsa-means-infinite-love-which-again-means-infinite-capacity-for/) [Mahatma Gandhi](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mahatma-gandhi/) > [To his enemies the householder must be a hero. Them he must resist. That is the duty of the householder. He must not sit…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/swami-vivekananda/to-his-enemies-the-householder-must-be-a-hero-them-he-must-resist/) [Swami Vivekananda](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/swami-vivekananda/) > [A votary of ahimsa always prays for ultimate deliverance from the bondage of the flesh.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mahatma-gandhi/a-votary-of-ahimsa-always-prays-for-ultimate-deliverance-from-the/) [Mahatma Gandhi](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mahatma-gandhi/) > [ If you kill me, you kill yourself." \[...\] He only wanted to convey to Janegg the truth of ahimsa, which is that all beings… ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/david-zindell/if-you-kill-me-you-kill-yourself-he-only-wanted-to-convey-to-janegg/) [David Zindell](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/david-zindell/) [Browse all 138 Ahimsa quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/ahimsa/) ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "A soldier fights with an irresistible strength when he has blown up his bridges and burnt his boats. 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