Texts on Yoga
There are a great many texts on Yoga, and the practitioner who wishes to deepen their knowledge must study them...
In approaching the texts, there are 2 fundamental ones that every practitioner should read and know.
Both belong to the 6 orthodox Indian visions, the darshanas.
The darshanas are complete visions of the world, seen through one particular axis.
Samkhya seems to be one of the oldest philosophical systems in India. Its name means the enumeration or counting of the creative principles of the world (the Tattvas). There are at least two different enumerations: one is the classical system, which sets out 25 elementary principles, the other is the tantric system, which has subtler divisions and sets out 36 principles.
Yoga has introspection as its object, the microcosm of the inner world of the living being, while Samkhya deals with the nature of the universe, the macrocosm of the outer world.
It is said that Samkhya lists the ingredients of the meal and that Patanjali's Yoga Sutras give the recipes...
And let us not forget that in the Niyama, Patanjali invites us to study the texts:
Svâdhyâya, the study of the sacred Scriptures.
The term Svâdhyâya means precisely the study of the Veda and the repetition of hermetic formulas (mantra) as well as of the syllable OM. This discipline also includes deepening one's understanding of the metaphysics of the Yoga Darshana.
“The study of the Scriptures and sacred formulas allows us direct contact with our tutelary deity.” y.s.II.44.