Mahasiddha Tilopa:
A siddha is a person who posses siddhi, which is another word for nirvana, but also relates to supernatural powers and qualities that are magically acquired in tantric rites. Anybody – monks, nuns, or layperson – can become a siddha.
The mahasiddhas were historical individuals who lived in India between the seventh and eleventh centuries. These includes scholars and poets, but also great minds with no schooling at all. Some were of extremely modest origin, but others were from Brahman and noble families.
Tilopa was an erudite guru with many students. Once, during a lesson, he, himself, began to doubt, and a feeling of the senselessness of everything stole over him. Like the Buddha, he snuck away one night, removed his monk’s habit, and wrapped himself in the robe of an ascetic.
Mahasiddha Naropa:
At the time that Tilopa was meditating and practicing in his charnel yard, he was assisted by Naropa, who later followed him to the monastery of Odantapura, of which Tilopa became abbot.