--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: Self-defense...is the only honourable…" description: "\"Self-defense...is the only honourable course where there is unreadiness for self-immolation.\" — Mahatma Gandhi" image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/8d2/mahatma-gandhi-23_courses_self-defense-is-the-only-honourable-cour_2541886.jpg" --- # Self-defense...is the only honourable course where there… ![“Self-defense...is the only honourable course where there is unreadiness for self-immolation.” quote by Mahatma Gandhi](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/8d2/mahatma-gandhi-23_courses_self-defense-is-the-only-honourable-cour_2541886.jpg) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/8d2/mahatma-gandhi-23_courses_self-defense-is-the-only-honourable-cour_2541886.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/8d2/mahatma-gandhi-23_courses_self-defense-is-the-only-honourable-cour_2541886.jpg) > “Self-defense...is the only honourable course where there is unreadiness for self-immolation.” [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. Self‑defense is presented as the sole honorable path when one is unprepared for self‑destruction, implying moral superiority over self‑harm. **In simple terms:** Self‑defense is honorable; self‑immolation is not. Key Takeaway Choose protective actions over self‑destructive ones. Themes ethics self‑preservation honor Mood serious thoughtful Type ethical philosophical When to use this quote - military training - personal safety - civil disobedience Key Concepts nonviolence self‑sacrifice martial arts Questions to Reflect On - When is self‑defense justified? - What alternatives exist to violent protection? A Different Perspective Self‑defense can still cause harm to others. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Revolutionary](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/revolutionary/) [Self](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/self/) [Self defense](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/self-defense/) ## Related quotes > [Anger is self-immolation.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/phillips-brooks/anger-is-self-immolation/) [Phillips Brooks](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/phillips-brooks/) > [Self-immolation as a way to protest against the injustices or as a way to fight for freedom cannot be accepted! All the fights must…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mehmet-murat-ildan/self-immolation-as-a-way-to-protest-against-the-injustices-or-as-a/) [Mehmet Murat Ildan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mehmet-murat-ildan/) > [“Self-immolation's a nice gesture, but it doesn't usually achieve very much.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/tana-french/self-immolation-s-a-nice-gesture-but-it-doesn-t-usually-achieve-very/) [Tana French](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/tana-french/) > [The last three films I've done are about self-immolation.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/claire-forlani/the-last-three-films-i-ve-done-are-about-self-immolation/) [Claire Forlani](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/claire-forlani/) > [If that's the price of getting together, then I'll be damned if I want to live on the same earth with any human beings!…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ayn-rand/if-that-s-the-price-of-getting-together-then-i-ll-be-damned-if-i-want/) [Ayn Rand](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ayn-rand/) > [“Nothing can make self-immolation proper. Nothing can give them the right to turn men into sacrificial animals. Nothing can make it moral to destroy…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ayn-rand/nothing-can-make-self-immolation-proper-nothing-can-give-them-the/) [Ayn Rand](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ayn-rand/) > [“The historian Diodorus tells us the mother of the young victim took a prominent part in the ritual of immolation, standing by the priest…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/solange-hertz/the-historian-diodorus-tells-us-the-mother-of-the-young-victim-took-a/) Solange Hertz > [“Immolation is the fate of true, chaste dreamers.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/daniel-fritz/immolation-is-the-fate-of-true-chaste-dreamers/) Daniel Fritz > [“I continued, as was my wont, to smile in his face, and he did not perceive that my smile now was at the thought…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/edgar-allan-poe/i-continued-as-was-my-wont-to-smile-in-his-face-and-he-did-not/) [Edgar Allan Poe](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/edgar-allan-poe/) > [“It's just me throwing myself at you, romance as usual, us times us, not lust but moxibustion, a substance burning close to the body…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alice-fulton/it-s-just-me-throwing-myself-at-you-romance-as-usual-us-times-us-not/) [Alice Fulton](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alice-fulton/) > [The Black Panther party of Self-Defense is a revolutionary party.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bobby-seale/the-black-panther-party-of-self-defense-is-a-revolutionary-party/) [Bobby Seale](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bobby-seale/) > [The strength to kill is not essential for self-defense; one ought to have the strength to die. When a man is fully ready to…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mahatma-gandhi/the-strength-to-kill-is-not-essential-for-self-defense-one-ought-to/) [Mahatma Gandhi](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mahatma-gandhi/) > [Though violence is not lawful, when it is offered in self-defense or for the defense of the defenseless, it is an act of bravery…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mahatma-gandhi/though-violence-is-not-lawful-when-it-is-offered-in-self-defense-or/) [Mahatma Gandhi](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mahatma-gandhi/) > [Whilst I may not actually help anyone to retaliate, I must not let a coward seek shelter behind nonviolence so-called. Not knowing the stuff…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mahatma-gandhi/whilst-i-may-not-actually-help-anyone-to-retaliate-i-must-not-let-a/) [Mahatma Gandhi](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mahatma-gandhi/) > [When you shoot someone who is fleeing, it's not self-defense. It's an execution.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/when-you-shoot-someone-who-is-fleeing-it-s-not-self-defense-it-s-an/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) ## 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 Courses quotes > [If ever I did a man any goodof course it was something exceptional and insignificant compared with the good or evil which I am…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/henry-david-thoreau/if-ever-i-did-a-man-any-goodof-course-it-was-something-exceptional/) [Henry David Thoreau](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/henry-david-thoreau/) > [Our critical day is not the very day of our death; but the whole course of our life.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-donne/our-critical-day-is-not-the-very-day-of-our-death-but-the-whole/) [John Donne](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-donne/) > [ Bernie \[Ecclestone\] is the commercial rights holder so the more outgoing the champion is, the better. Of course. I also do think about our… ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bernie-ecclestone/bernie-ecclestone-is-the-commercial-rights-holder-so-the-more/) [Bernie Ecclestone](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bernie-ecclestone/) > [The prediction of nuclear winter is drawn not, of course, from any direct experience with the consequences of global nuclear war, but rather from…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/carl-sagan/the-prediction-of-nuclear-winter-is-drawn-not-of-course-from-any/) [Carl Sagan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/carl-sagan/) > [We are always saying: Let the Law take its Course but what we really mean is: Let the Law take OUR Course.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/will-rogers/we-are-always-saying-let-the-law-take-its-course-but-what-we-really/) [Will Rogers](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/will-rogers/) > [Men generally decide upon a middle course, which is most hazardous, for they know neither how to be entirely good nor entirely bad.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/niccolo-machiavelli/men-generally-decide-upon-a-middle-course-which-is-most-hazardous-for/) [Niccolo Machiavelli](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/niccolo-machiavelli/) > [I earn my living by teaching film, mostly filmmaking but also teaching courses on current cinema. I'm interested in movies. I hope that's not…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/thom-andersen/i-earn-my-living-by-teaching-film-mostly-filmmaking-but-also-teaching/) [Thom Andersen](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/thom-andersen/) > [The wisdom of our actions in the first three years of peace will determine the course of world history for half a century.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/henry-a-wallace/the-wisdom-of-our-actions-in-the-first-three-years-of-peace-will/) [Henry A. Wallace](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/henry-a-wallace/) > [To divide one's life by years is of course to tumble into a trap set by our own arithmetic. The calendar consents to carry…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/clifton-fadiman/to-divide-one-s-life-by-years-is-of-course-to-tumble-into-a-trap-set/) [Clifton Fadiman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/clifton-fadiman/) > [You can’t bake a cake without getting the kitchen messy. Halfway through surgery it looks like there’s been a murder in the operating room.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/price-pritchett/you-can-t-bake-a-cake-without-getting-the-kitchen-messy-halfway/) [Price Pritchett](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/price-pritchett/) > [ Leave a cavity behind the \[wall\] facings, and on the inside build walls two feet thick, made of red dimension stone or burnt brick… ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/marcus-vitruvius-pollio/leave-a-cavity-behind-the-wall-facings-and-on-the-inside-build-walls/) [Marcus Vitruvius Pollio](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/marcus-vitruvius-pollio/) > [Of course it does on opening night, but I've never had that devastating stage fright that some people get, but apparently, you can develop…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/joan-collins/of-course-it-does-on-opening-night-but-i-ve-never-had-that/) [Joan Collins](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/joan-collins/) > [I studied philosophy and ended on sociology. For some reason, all the advanced courses in philosophy were offered 4:30 to 6:30, so I could…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lawrence-jackson/i-studied-philosophy-and-ended-on-sociology-for-some-reason-all-the/) [Lawrence Jackson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lawrence-jackson/) > [There is no one who can change My course or affect My conduct to the slightest extent. I am the Master over all.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sathya-sai-baba/there-is-no-one-who-can-change-my-course-or-affect-my-conduct-to-the/) [Sathya Sai Baba](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sathya-sai-baba/) > [In the course of our eternal existence, we spend infinitely more time in the spirit world on the other side than we spend in…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sylvia-browne/in-the-course-of-our-eternal-existence-we-spend-infinitely-more-time/) [Sylvia Browne](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sylvia-browne/) Browse all 6,995 Courses quotes ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "Self-defense...is the only honourable course where there is unreadiness for self-immolation.", "creator": { "@type": "Person", "name": "Mahatma Gandhi" }, "isPartOf": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website" }, "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mahatma-gandhi/self-defense-is-the-only-honourable-course-where-there-is-unreadiness/", "about": { "@type": "Thing", "name": "Courses" }, "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mahatma-gandhi/self-defense-is-the-only-honourable-course-where-there-is-unreadiness/#quotation", "image": { "@type": "ImageObject", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/8d2/mahatma-gandhi-23_courses_self-defense-is-the-only-honourable-cour_2541886.jpg", "contentUrl": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/8d2/mahatma-gandhi-23_courses_self-defense-is-the-only-honourable-cour_2541886.jpg", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/8d2/mahatma-gandhi-23_courses_self-defense-is-the-only-honourable-cour_2541886.jpg", "width": 1080, "height": 1080, "caption": "“Self-defense...is the only honourable course where there is unreadiness for self-immolation.” — Mahatma Gandhi", "creditText": "SMS4Smile Quotes", "creator": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#organization" } } }, { "@type": "BreadcrumbList", "itemListElement": [ { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 1, "name": "Home", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 2, "name": "Quotes", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 3, "name": "Mahatma Gandhi", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mahatma-gandhi/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 4, "name": "Self-defense...is the only honourable course where...", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mahatma-gandhi/self-defense-is-the-only-honourable-course-where-there-is-unreadiness/" } ], "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mahatma-gandhi/self-defense-is-the-only-honourable-course-where-there-is-unreadiness/#breadcrumb" }, { "@type": "WebSite", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website", "name": "SMS4Smile Quotes", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/", "publisher": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#organization" } }, { "@type": "Organization", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#organization", "name": "SMS4Smile Quotes", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/", "logo": { "@type": "ImageObject", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/wp-content/themes/sq/assets/icons/icon-512.png", "width": 512, "height": 512 } } ] } ```