In Vajrayana Buddhism, an Ishta-deva or Ishta-devata (Sanskrit: इष्टदेवता) (Yidam in Tibetan) is a fully enlightened being who is the focus of personal meditation, during a retreat or for life. The term is often translated into English as tutelary deity, meditation deity, or meditational deity. The Ishta-deva appears in the 'Inner' refuge formula of the Three Roots and is also the key element of Deity Yoga since the 'deity' in the yoga is the Ishta-deva.

The Sanskrit word iṣṭadevatā or iṣṭadevaḥ is a compound of iṣṭa (desired, liked, reverenced) + devatā (a deity or divine being). It is defined by V. S. Apte as "a favorite god, one's tutelary deity." Though this term is used in many popular books on Buddhist Tantra, the term işţadevatā has not been attested in any Buddhist tantric text in Sanskrit. The word corresponding to this concept is adhideva, though of rare occurrence. The unrelated Tibetan version of the term, possibly of entirely native origin, is yi-dam is said to be a contraction of Tib. yid-kyi-dam-tshig, meaning "samaya of mind"- in other words, the state of being indestructibly bonded with the inherently pure and liberated nature of mind.

Orgyen Tobgyal Rinpoche, also called Tulku Ugyen Topgyal, is a Tibetan Buddhist lama who was born in Kham in Eastern Tibet in 1951, living in exile in india.

Orgyen Tobgyal Rinpoche, born in 1951 in Nangchen in Kham, Eastern Tibet is the eldest son of the 3rd Neten Chokling Rinpoche. He has 3 younger brothers: Jamyang Gyaltsen, Khyentse Yeshe Rinpoche, and Dzigar Kongtrul Rinpoche and one sister. By 1959, he left Tibet with his parents and oldest brother and went to Sikkim where they lived for few years. In 1967, his father, the 3rd Neten Chokling Rinpoche began the construction of a Tibetan settlement in Bir, Himachal Pradesh, North East India, and died in India in 1973 right after a car accident.

Orgyen Tobgyal Rinpoche then took over the care of the monastery in Bir. His father's reincarnation, Neten Chokling was born August 10, 1973 in a modest family in Wandipodzong, in Bhutan, and was recognized by the 16th Karmapa as well as by Dilgo Khyentse Rinpoche. At the age of 7, he was taken to the monastery of his predecessor in Bir.