“Stress or tension, however,
has its origin in the attitudes to our actions.
There are two attitudes in particular that are the cause of stress.
These are:
Aham and Mama.
Aham or Ahaṃkāra is the attitude “I am the doer”
and Mama or Mamakara is the attitude “it is for me”.
These two factors most surely produce Udvega.
The moment the attitude is one of Na–Mama
– ‘not by me’, ‘not for me’,  there cannot be any stress.
A person who has total faith in God cannot
have stress and will not exhibit the Udvega.”
–  Yoga Sūtra on Stress – An interview with TKV Desikachar

“A human being is made up of the three Guṇa:
Sattva, Rajas and Tamas.
All three are important and have their respective roles.
The role of the Rajas Guṇa is to initiate action.
Every function of the body and action of the person is
because of the operation of the Rajas Guṇa.
Even breathing requires the action of the Rajas Guṇa.
In all his teachings, my father would always insist on action.
As long as a person is alive, the three Guṇa will exist in his system
thereby making action not only necessary but inevitable.”

– Yoga Sūtra on Stress – An interview with TKV Desikachar

“In the Indian tradition,
stress would be the situation where a person
exhibits the Udvega, attitudes or behaviour
which take over a person and control him.
The origin of the Udvega lies in the Ṣad Ūrmi,
the six enemies.

These six are:
– Kāma: desire
– Krodha: anger
– Lobha: possessiveness, greed
– Moha: darkness;
though not actually dark it is as if darkness exists
because the person is so sure of himself
and his opinions that he is unable to see.
– Mada: arrogance,
the refusal to accept or give in.
– Mātsarya: jealousy,
to resent the success of others
and to be happy at their failures.

These are Āyurveda‘s Mano Roga.
If any one of these six is dominant in a person,
that person is sure to experience Udvega in one form or the other.”

– Yoga Sūtra on Stress – An interview with TKV Desikachar

YOGA SŪTRA ON STRESS

– An Interview with TKV Desikachar by AV Balasubramanian and Paul Harvey

The Yoga Sūtra presents the potentials of the human mind, the means to its refinement, control and clarity and the obstacles that can come in the way of one’s progress. An understanding of stress in the light of the Yoga Sūtra is presented in the interview below.

In addition to covering the many techniques in Yoga to help persons under stress, TKV Desikachar constantly emphasises the importance of the attitude to our actions. He singles out the cultivation of the twin qualities of Śraddhā and Īśvara Praṇidhānā as the only sure means for being free from stress permanently.

Question:
What is the Indian tradition’s view on stress?

Response:
In the Indian tradition, stress would be the situation where a person exhibits the Udvega, attitudes or behavior which take over a person and control him. The origin of the Udvega lies in the Ṣad Ūrmi, the six enemies. These six are:

• Kāma: desire
• Krodha: anger
• Lobha: possessiveness, greed
• Moha: darkness; though not actually dark it is as if darkness exists because the person is so sure of himself and his opinions that he is unable to see.
• Mada: arrogance, the refusal to accept or give in.
• Mātsarya: jealousy, to resent the success of others and to be happy at their failures.

These are Āyurveda‘s Mano Roga (diseases of the mind). If any one of these six is dominant in a person, that person is sure to experience Udvega in one form or the other.