Matthew 6:22-23 reads,
22 "The eye is the lamp of the body. So, if your eye is clear, your whole body will be full of light,
23 but if your eye is bad, your whole body will be full of darkness. If then the light in you is darkness, how great is that darkness!"
I had never understood that verse. Then, tonight, I started investigating a common West Asian religious phenomenon known as the Evil Eye.
The Evil Eye is a curse which comes upon a person as a result of being stared at, usually with a look of jealousy or ill-will. The fear of this curse leads to a hesitancy or fear of speaking about one's good fortune, one's riches, or one's children- and the use of invocations of God's protection against the Evil Eye when daring to speak about such matters. For example, Muslims say "Masha'Allah" (God has willed it) when speaking about their own good fortune, or praising another's.
In addition, many Middle Eastern cultures, such as Turks, Persians, Arabs and Jews, wear talismans to protect themselves from the Evil Eye (see above).
Wikipedia reads:
"Plutarch's scientific explanation stated that the eyes were the chief, if not sole, source of the deadly rays that were supposed to spring up like poisoned darts from the inner recesses of a person possessing the evil eye."
Very interestingly, in the section on Jewish beliefs about Evil Eye, Wikipedia reads:
"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.
[...]
"It has also been suggested the 10th commandment: "do not covet anything that belongs to your neighbor" is a law against bestowing the evil eye on another person."
In his paper Hypothesis: The Electrophysiological Basis of Evil Eye Belief, Colin Andrew Ross states that the human eye emits a measurable energetic pulse, which corresponds with brainwaves.
Besides the idea of cursing someone through staring at them, or breaking the Commandment against covetousness, it seems to me that another element of the Evil Eye is the concept of shame, or its East Asian counterpart, "saving face."
Honor, good repute, grace, favor- all of these words describe a reputation of good standing with one's neighbors, where they regard (look at) you in a positive, affirming way. This reputation is the sense of self worth a person has in relation to others.
Brene Brown says in her TEDTalk "The power of vulnerability" that shame is a sense of being unworthy of connection with others. Having others regard you as disgraceful, unworthy, disgusting, unlovable, or ugly sends a powerful message about your quality of life in relation to other people. Many people, unable to "face" the negative esteem after a disfavorable turn of events, such as exposure for a crime, commit suicide rather than live in disgrace.
Could an envious or hateful Evil Eye, beyond being a supernatural or superstitious "curse" upon a person's life, also be a form of violence against a person's relationships and self image? Could it be that staring at someone hatefully or maliciously could damage their self image and actually destroy their relationships, their finances, and their family?
And what kind of life does the person live, who goes around placing his or her injurious gaze onto people's lives, hearts, and reputations? Jesus' teaching seems to imply that such a person lives in darkness- "how great is that darkness."
22 "The eye is the lamp of the body. So, if your eye is clear, your whole body will be full of light,
23 but if your eye is bad, your whole body will be full of darkness. If then the light in you is darkness, how great is that darkness!"
I had never understood that verse. Then, tonight, I started investigating a common West Asian religious phenomenon known as the Evil Eye.
 |
| A Jewish "Hamsa" Talisman |
The Evil Eye is a curse which comes upon a person as a result of being stared at, usually with a look of jealousy or ill-will. The fear of this curse leads to a hesitancy or fear of speaking about one's good fortune, one's riches, or one's children- and the use of invocations of God's protection against the Evil Eye when daring to speak about such matters. For example, Muslims say "Masha'Allah" (God has willed it) when speaking about their own good fortune, or praising another's.
In addition, many Middle Eastern cultures, such as Turks, Persians, Arabs and Jews, wear talismans to protect themselves from the Evil Eye (see above).
Wikipedia reads:
"Plutarch's scientific explanation stated that the eyes were the chief, if not sole, source of the deadly rays that were supposed to spring up like poisoned darts from the inner recesses of a person possessing the evil eye."
Very interestingly, in the section on Jewish beliefs about Evil Eye, Wikipedia reads:
"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.
[...]
"It has also been suggested the 10th commandment: "do not covet anything that belongs to your neighbor" is a law against bestowing the evil eye on another person."
In his paper Hypothesis: The Electrophysiological Basis of Evil Eye Belief, Colin Andrew Ross states that the human eye emits a measurable energetic pulse, which corresponds with brainwaves.
Besides the idea of cursing someone through staring at them, or breaking the Commandment against covetousness, it seems to me that another element of the Evil Eye is the concept of shame, or its East Asian counterpart, "saving face."
Honor, good repute, grace, favor- all of these words describe a reputation of good standing with one's neighbors, where they regard (look at) you in a positive, affirming way. This reputation is the sense of self worth a person has in relation to others.
Brene Brown says in her TEDTalk "The power of vulnerability" that shame is a sense of being unworthy of connection with others. Having others regard you as disgraceful, unworthy, disgusting, unlovable, or ugly sends a powerful message about your quality of life in relation to other people. Many people, unable to "face" the negative esteem after a disfavorable turn of events, such as exposure for a crime, commit suicide rather than live in disgrace.
Could an envious or hateful Evil Eye, beyond being a supernatural or superstitious "curse" upon a person's life, also be a form of violence against a person's relationships and self image? Could it be that staring at someone hatefully or maliciously could damage their self image and actually destroy their relationships, their finances, and their family?
And what kind of life does the person live, who goes around placing his or her injurious gaze onto people's lives, hearts, and reputations? Jesus' teaching seems to imply that such a person lives in darkness- "how great is that darkness."
