‘We are energy’: Montreal artist incorporates Sikh mantra, concept of Oneness into her paintings

A Montreal artist is combining art and faith as a form of meditation and spiritual dialogue.

Each one of Dr. Juss Kaur’s paintings contains thousands of minuscule, handwritten Sikh mantra: Waheguru.

They’re inspired by the Sikh religion’s concept of Oneness, where expression of God is seen in every event, person and thing.

“Any things that you begin to concentrate on becomes a mantra and when it is written into art, I call it mantra art,” said Dr. Kaur. “Artists express many emotions through their craft. And much of the time the process of creating art is a devotional act.”

Born in Kenya, Dr. Kaur and her family immigrated to England before moving to Montreal when she was 18 years old. She taught math and science for more than 25 years and later worked as an associate professor at McGill University.

Engrossed in the Sikh mantra, she soon began to paint on canvas.

“Universal presence everywhere,” she said. “And this was a word that we used to meditate on, to understand that presence. I began to understand its significance.

“And especially because I was a science teacher and I realized that science tells us that we are made of nothing but particles, smaller and smaller and smaller. And first it was being molecules and atoms and going down below. And now finally we just showed that we are vibration, we are energy.”

Sikh artist Juss Kaur on April 12, 2023. (Matt Tornabene/CityNews)

Health benefits of art

Kaur believes creating art reduces stress and is helpful in improving mental health.

“When you begin to concentrate and become focused in one moment and you continue that, it gives a kind of relaxation to the whole body. And before you know it, you are complete, fully immersed in the process of doing it.

“And that process brings you to the moment. You’re not thinking of the past, you’re not thinking of the future, you are in the moment.”

As Canada celebrates Sikh Heritage Month, Kaur wants to see the participation of people from other faiths as well.

She believes it can help everyone in understanding each other better in a multicultural country.

“When I was teaching in the secondary school, we used to have a course called humanities, and in that we touched upon all the different religions, their way of living, their culture. And I found that extremely helpful, especially in the multicultural schools that we have now.

“And I remember how the climate in the school changed because you began to understand everything about the other person who you feel is very different from you.”