Within Drukpa teachings, Naropa and Milarepa are regarded as pivotal figures who embody both the authority of the lineage and the transformative power of its practices. Naropa stands as one of the great Indian mahāsiddhas from whom the Kagyu “oral instructions” flow, linking the Drukpa tradition back to the primordial source of Vajradhāra through Tilopa and Marpa. He is remembered especially as the transmitter of the Six Yogas of Naropa, which function as core advanced tantric and meditative disciplines in Drukpa practice, particularly in the context of intensive retreat. His life, marked by the “twelve great hardships,” is studied as a paradigm of uncompromising devotion to the guru and of the willingness to undergo profound trial for the sake of direct realization of Mahāmudrā. In this way, Naropa personifies the rigorous, methodical side of the path: the structured yogic technologies and the unbroken transmission that carry the living current of realization from India into Tibet.

Milarepa, by contrast, is revered as the quintessential Tibetan yogin whose life story gives flesh and blood to the very teachings Naropa transmitted. As the disciple of Marpa who received these instructions, Milarepa demonstrates the possibility of complete awakening within a single lifetime, even for one burdened by grave negative actions, through unwavering devotion, renunciation, and relentless meditative practice. His songs of realization are cherished within the Drukpa tradition as luminous expressions of Mahāmudrā, emptiness, and the union of wisdom and compassion, and they are used as living commentaries on how the view is to be integrated into experience. Milarepa’s example serves as a mirror for practitioners, showing that the path is not an abstract ideal but something that can be fully actualized under the guidance of authentic teachers.

Taken together, Naropa and Milarepa form two complementary poles of meaning within Drukpa spirituality. Naropa represents the tantric and yogic methods received from India, the disciplined technologies of transformation and the authoritative continuity of the lineage. Milarepa represents the fruition of those methods in the Tibetan landscape, the fully realized yogin whose life and songs continually renew confidence that enlightenment is not merely a distant promise but an attainable reality. Their stories and teachings are thus not only historical foundations but ongoing sources of inspiration, grounding Drukpa practice in both a precise meditative technology and a vivid, human example of its ultimate result.