The Evil eye.

My parents are very happy for me. They are happy that I have found a perfect life partner in Akash. However, whenever they talk about how happy they are for me, their happiness is always accompanied with a looming shadow of fear. My mom always ends up saying "nazar na lage" She is always scared of expressing her happiness in front of others. She fears the "boori nazar". It is like an invisible ghost, that always checks her happiness and reminds her that sorrow may just be waiting around the corner, and if she is too lost in her happiness, she may drop her guards against it...thus inviting trouble.
In India, the new born are adorned with a distinct round mark of "kajal" on the forehead, to ward off the evil eye.
Shop-owners do not fail to hang a few green chillies/red chillies and lemons right in front of their shop to protect their business against any envious glances from other shop owners.
If a child is feeling a little unwell after a school function where she performed well on the stage, the parents are likely to first use prayers or other special procedures to rid her of evil/envious glances she may have attracted, than consider medicines.
Pregnant women are very cautiously guarded against the evil/envious  thoughts of other childless women.
Whatever is considered precious, and may attract envious thoughts by others, is protected. Children, newly weds, new construction, wealth, youth, beauty, new car,...anything.
And if anything does go wrong, the evil eye is the prime suspect.
Evil eye, "buri nazar" ...is held responsible for many illnesses, misfortunes, bad luck. Then there are talismans, chants, beads, and many more such ways to fight the evil energy.
The fact that this belief has been present in different forms all across different civilizations, cultures, religions, makes it difficult to ignore it.
In Greece, a test is performed by placing one drop of olive oil in a glass of holy water. If the drop floats, the test concludes there is no evil eye involved. If the drop sinks, then it is asserted that the evil eye is cast indeed. The Greek accepted the traditional belief in the evil eye but attributed it to the Devil and envy.
The Romans and their cultural descendants in the Mediterranean nations, fortified themselves with charms to avoid the eye.
Judaism says an evil eye is worse than a bad friend, a bad neighbor, or an evil heart. Judaism believes that -  'a "good eye" designates an attitude of good will and kindness towards others. Someone who has this attitude in life will rejoice when his fellow man prospers; he will wish everyone well. An "evil eye" denotes the opposite attitude. A man with "an evil eye" will not only feel no joy but experience actual distress when others prosper, and will rejoice when others suffer. A person of this character represents a great danger to our moral purity.'
Among Muslims, if a compliment is to be made, you are always supposed to say "Masha'Allah" ( It is as God has willed) to ward off the evil eye or "Chashmi bad dur" ("May the evil eye be far").
Every religion, faith has a name for it. It is feared by all.
I find the understanding of the "evil eye" in Judaism very interesting.
My take on the concept of "evil eye" -
Thoughts, Feelings, are very strong forms of energies.  And if it is to be believed that everything is energy, everything around us is nothing but a play of different energies, then, the negative energies cannot be ignored, and can be held responsible for mis-haps, and thus one needs protection against it.
Hatred, jealousy, envy are very strong feelings.
When a mother believes that her child has been a victim of the evil eye, there are two things,
The child could be the object of envy for someone. Or, her mother is simply being fearful. In either case, there is negativity. She believes so....her belief in itself is a strong form of energy(negative), and something needs to be done about it, whether the child is actually a victim of the evil eye or not.
Any talisman, prayer or chant or whatever she believes will ward off the evil, will work. If there has been any negative thoughts around the child, her belief in the prayer, is a strong positive energy that will combat the evil eye. Even if there is no evil eye, her faith in her prayers will surely cure her of the negativity of her fear. And thus protect the child from any negativity around her, generating from the evil eye or from the fear of the evil eye.
So, essentially it is the positive thoughts which overcome the negativity, if any. There has been a lot written and said about the power of positive thinking. Faith, is positive thinking. Vehicles of faith, like talismans, prayers, chants, beads, symbols etc .... are just that, vehicles of faith, or positive energy. If I believe the scary mask will keep away evil from my house, it will.....