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General Joginder Jaswant Singh was the first Sikh Chief of Army staff, a position he held from January 2005 till September last year. He is now Governor of Arunachal Pradesh.

What does spirituality mean to you?
It is a direct and very personal, very intimate connection with God, with my beliefs and my faith. It is something I derive my strength from, feeling the full spiritual force flowing into me or what I do. It is not something I have been carrying on my sleeve, displaying it to people beyond my most immediate circle and family. But it has always been with me inside. I do not look at it in a narrow religious sense. In fact, I feel a sense of contentment and peacefulness whenever I visit a religious place, no matter what the religion. In the army I could experience this a lot --- very often I would participate in religious ceremonies with my soldiers. So many times also, the same barrack would have a Hindu temple on one side and a mosque on the other, which I could both visit. But beyond places and shrines, what has always mattered is the profound connection to my faith deep inside of me.

Do you believe you are guided and protected by a superior force?
Most definitely, and I have constantly felt so. My philosophy has always been to be a warrior and a winner. And God has been kind to me, I have been a winner most of the time. Also, whenever I faced challenges, I prayed and succeeded. But none of that has come easily. I believe God only helps those who help themselves. There is no shortcut to success. You cannot simply behold spiritual beliefs and expect to succeed. This is asking too much of God. You have to work very hard, which is what I did, and also I always tried to do things differently, to never go by the book or follow the sheep trail.

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