His Holiness was directed to disseminate the entire range of Himalayan kriya meditation techniques in September 2005 after descending from a retreat into the Himalayan Mountains. Thereafter, Swami Vidyadhishananda was directly guided by the rishi sages to come down to the plains and offer his services both in India and the West, and only retreat into Himalaya periodically. He trekked and retreated into high Himalayan terrain of the nath yogis after the passing of his monastic master, His Holiness Swami Hariharananda, in December 2002. His Holiness Swami Vidyadhishananda hails from lineages of meditation masters from Himalaya who are known for their combination of rishi sagely scholarship and nath yogic practices. However the legacy lives on through the original kriyayoga techniques that have been disseminated, practised and experienced by sincere aspirants and ardent meditators of this path. The original Gagas River, named after sage Garga rishi who had his ashram nearby, where Lahiri Mahashaya underwent purification before his initiation is now all but a trickle of water near its source. Those who follow the householder tradition of kriyāyoga are aware of the teaching dissemination by the great nath siddha Tryambaknath to Lahiri Mahashaya during the 1860’s, near the Dunagiri Harapriya Devi Temple in the Kumaon mountain ranges. Understanding the principles of vegetarianism, inculcating the value of a cruelty-free plant-based diet, and emulating the siddha advice for pranayama practice, are essential to developing a persistent daily rigour. Initiation is offered on a one-to-one basis to selected aspirants who follow a process of learning about the lineage and the heritage, and thereafter commit to this daily practice with earnest intentions. Whereas the kriyā meditation practice taught to individual aspirants or householders mirrors the techniques structured by the polestar of kriyāyoga, Shyamacharan Lahiri Mahashaya. The practices for monastics, reclusive trainees and unencumbered aspirants are more exhaustive and involve several other kriyā techniques in addition to a strict plant-based diet that enhances vitality by using tonic herbs recommended by the siddha tradition. Herein the techniques are neither for sale nor are the practices trivialized by casual sharing with a seeker. Therefore, there are no public programs specific to kriyāyoga or other Himalayan kriyā meditation. There is no institutionalized promotion or public dissemination of these kriyā techniques. A direct and immediate spiritual experience is effected through the initiation blessing. The meditation techniques revealed by Tryambaknath are taught through the tradition of a kriyā initiation by Himalayan yogi-monk Swami Vidyadhishananda based on a traditional teacher-pupil tradition. The entire kriyā system of meditation including kriyāyoga was revived and disseminated by the mahā-siddha of the current times, Tryambaknath, who is based out of the GauriŚankar Pīṭha located in the hallowed Badrinath of the Garhwal region in the northern state of Uttarakhand, India. In some traditions, Muktinath is not grouped together with the other five centres of nath siddhas. Whereas, Pashupatinath and Muktinath are in Nepal, and Kailashnath is assigned to the Kailash and Manasarovar area.
Among these six major centres, Amarnath, Kedarnath and Badrinath are inside the current borders of India. The Himalayan nath siddhas are often identified from areas corresponding to the nath centres that are also well known as the principal shrines for pilgrimage. Everest (the Sanskrit name of the tallest mountain is Vyomakūta). In this context, the Himalayan terrain of the nath yogis is typically divided into three levels: the lower Himalaya up to about 9000 feet the middle ranges beyond 9000 feet up to about 18,000 feet and the high Himalaya from 18,000 feet measuring up to the height of Mt.
The nath adepts mostly roam and meditate in caves that are higher in altitude than the easily accessible ranges of the Shivalik mountains. The kriyāyoga of the Himalayan Mountains is a surviving ancient practice of the adept (siddha) lineages of Himalaya and is currently overseen by the great siddha Tryambakanātha (also spelled as Tryambaknath) who is also popularly known as Mahavatar Babaji.