25 Indra is the central and most popular god of the most ancient, Vedic pantheon. He is the firstborn of the sky god Dyaus and the goddess of the earth, he is the lord of the universe, who tore the sky from the earth, as a result of which the world appeared. Indra is the god of thunder and lightning, battle, wealth, male power, the inspirer of singers and warriors. In the Rig Veda, 250 hymns are dedicated to him. The gods subordinate to Indra are located in the third heaven.

26 Savitri is one of Brahma's wives, created by himself. In order to always see her beauty, he created four faces for himself. Savitri is considered an example of a faithful and wise wife, she is also called a savior.

27 Mahatma (Mohandas Karamchand) Gandhi (1869–1948) was a lawyer, politician and statesman, leader of the movement for the non-violent liberation of India from colonial dependence (for "savaraj" — "his rule"). He was influenced by Western Hinduism, theosophy (see: M. Eliade, I. Culiano, Dictionary of Religions, p. 348) and Jainism. Political goals, according to Gandhi, should be achieved by ethical means, primarily by the moral improvement of society. The initial principle of Gandhi's teaching is achisma, not harming anything living. Next comes the principle of love: "Only there is life where there is love. Life without love is death." All suffering must be taken upon oneself, this is courage, and not in speaking out against evil. Brahmacharya – non-indulgence of one's passions and liberation from them, is achieved, in particular, by taking a vow of celibacy. Gandhi's last principle is aparigrahi, non-acquisitiveness. Deeply respecting Indian religious traditions, Gandhi at the same time fought against caste privileges, inequality of women, etc. Gandhi's birthday, October 2, is one of the ten public holidays in India.

28 Bhagavad-gita (Skt. "Song of the Gods") is a treatise that is part of the Mahabharata. Created around the second half of the first millennium B.C., it expounds the foundations not only of Buddhism, Brahmanism, and Hinduism, but also of a number of new Eastern religious teachings.

29 Shloka is a common meter in epic poetry, consisting of two 16-syllable half-verses.

30 Bhikshu (Sanskrit. "beggar") are the first members of Buddhist communities. They had only the bare necessities with them: a mug for collecting alms, a bowl for water, a razor, since they shaved their heads, and a staff. From noon until dawn the next day they did not eat a crumb.

31 Tantras (Skt. "intricacy, secret text, magic") are special magical techniques in Hinduism, which form a special magical practice, tantrism. On the basis of these magical techniques, formulas-mantras were formed - consecrated spells to which magical power was attributed. The word "Om" is part of mantras. Shepherds, fishermen, firefighters, etc. "A role similar to mantras is played by numerous amulets (laces, badges, etc.), as well as graphemes-images, diagrams. All these items, as well as mantras, constitute the necessary props of professional sorcerers... A sorcerer is the same as a priest, but of a lower rank, simpler, most often illiterate. His diagrams and magical circles (yantras) with the letter "o" (i.e. "Om") in the center are the basis of his wisdom" (Vasiliev L.S. History of Religions of the East, p. 254). "Before Christianity spread to India, Tantrism had reached a level of coarseness, cruelty, sorcery, and superstition that is often incomprehensible to the modern mind. In its crudest forms, tantra includes black magic, sexual and human sacrifices" (New religious organizations of Russia of destructive, occult and neo-pagan character. Reference book: V 8 t. T. 4. Ch. 1. M., 2002. S. 97–98). "In fact, Hinduism is not so much an intellectual quest as the use of the achievements of practice, and this practice is nothing but black magic" (Father Seraphim (Rose), Orthodoxy and the Religion of the Future, p. 35).

Tantrism is not a separate flawed trend of Eastern religions, but a ritual practice that permeates these religions, including Buddhism, to varying degrees. "Having arisen under the influence of Hinduism and folk beliefs, Buddhist Tantrism gradually gained the upper hand over Mahayana [the largest, along with Hinayana, trend in Buddhism] (VIII century). and eventually supplanting it. There are many schools of Indian Buddhist tantrism. The most significant is the Vajrayana, or "Diamond Vehicle," the name of which already contains a hint of sexual symbolism... dominating in the significant structures of Tantrism, its multi-level "secret language"" (Eliade M., Culiano I. Dictionary of Religions, p. 82). Next, the tantric symbols are deciphered, for reasons of decency we will skip them. "Tantric practice is carefully designed; Based on a sophisticated knowledge of psychology, it is to a certain extent close to yoga, but its language is always full of hidden meaning and sexual allusions..." (Eliade M., Culiano I. Dictionary of Religions, p. 164). But it would be wrong to assume that Tantrism is limited to mere allusions to the vulgar. Vocabulary flourishes in it, which cultured people classify as obscene, no matter how much you embellish it and veil it with symbols. Generally speaking, the "mantras written on the slabs" mentioned by St. Nicholas strongly resemble indecent inscriptions on fences: "Mani (Sanskrit, usually translated as "magic rod") is the designation of the male sexual organ in Tantrism. The word "mani" is part of the mantra (incantations) known to every lamaist (sect in Buddhism) ("om mani padme hum" [I worship the Buddha, dharma, sangha]), which is engraved or painted on stones. That is why these ritual stones themselves were colloquially called mani" (Atheistic Dictionary, Moscow, 1985, p. 251). The same as mani means linga. Lingams, the universally erected cult poles, are also nothing else, but this time based on a female organ (see p. 368 of Eliade's book, pp. 242-243 of Vasiliev's book and note 24). Unfortunately, there is no information about this side of Indian religions in domestic sources and, being completely ignorant of it, many begin to idealize the East. Western sources are much more explicit: "Linga (Sanskrit. " sign, "phallus") is a symbolic representation of the male penis as a cult image in India. The first images of the linga in Hinduism date back to the first century B.C. Literarily, the cult is described in the earliest parts of the Mahabharata. The linga, depicted as a column or naturalistically, is used as a symbol of Shiva" (Meyers grosses Universallexicon: in 15 Bd. / Chefred. K.-H. Ahlheim u. G. Preuss. Mannheim; Wien; Zurich, 1983. Bd. 8. S. 527).

The explanation for this wild admiration of the Indians is quite simple. Man is identified with the cosmos, while the creative power of the cosmos is identified with a certain animal instinct. Magic, that is, the influence on the forces of the cosmos, is centered around this instinct. The deification of the animal sphere of human life naturally follows from the Indian religious texts themselves. Even in the most intelligible of sacred texts, the Upanishads, the most sublime texts are accompanied by direct instructions for copulation. It is not surprising, therefore, that Tantric sex magic appeared, and the cult of love passion peculiar to the East in general. And it is not without reason that in the Krishna translation of the Bhagavad-gita, the supreme divine person, whom they call Krishna, unequivocally ascribes to himself, among the most inconceivable attributes, the following: "I am a sexual life that does not contradict religious principles" (Chapter 7, text 11, Vol. 1, p. 364), and in the text of Chapter 39, Chapter 10, he continues: "I am the seed that gives birth to everything that exists" (Vol. 2, p. 125).

32 Преподобный Симеон Мироточивый, царь Сербский (Стефан Неманя; † 1200; память 13/26 февраля, Неделя вторая по Пятидесятнице) — основатель великой династии Неманичей, объединитель сербских земель. В 1159 году он отвоевал у греков все сербские земли, а также завладел новыми территориями. Он образовал мощное государство, в которое входили девять крупных областей: Сербия, Срем и часть Словении, Босния, восточная Далмация, Герцеговина, Черногория, Зета, Албания и Македония. При нем в 1190 году Сербия была признана Византией независимым государством. Завершив свои земные дела, преподобный в 1195 году оставил царский трон и последовал за своим сыном, святым Саввой Сербским, на Святую Гору Афон и там в ангельском образе предал Богу свою душу. Святое тело его было перенесено святым Саввой в Сербию, а рака в монастыре Хиландар, где оно лежало, стала источать миро. Возле нее произросла лоза, называемая лозой святого Стефана, она приносит виноград, от которого люди получают чудесную помощь даже в наши дни. Самые крупные задушбины царя Симеона — монастыри Юрьевы Столпы, Студеница и Хиландар.

33 Святитель Савва Сербский (1169–1237; память 12/25 января) — самый почитаемый в Сербии святой, создатель Сербской Церкви, святой покровитель Сербии, великий светоч, силой духа которого сербский народ укрепляется в течение всей своей истории до наших дней. Родился святой Савва (мирское имя Растко Неманич) в семье святых царей: преподобного Симеона Мироточивого (память 13/26 февраля) и сербской святой Анастасии (Анны); брат святого Саввы, король Стефан Первовенчанный, тоже сияет в лике святых (память в Неделю вторую по Пятидесятнице). Оставив царские палаты, святой Савва в юном возрасте удалился с русскими монахами на Святую Гору Афон. Здесь он со своим святым царственным отцом основал в 1199 году мощный сербский духовный центр — Хиландарский монастырь, никогда не прерывавший связей с родной для его иноков страной и ставший очагом просвещения для всего православного мира. Святой Савва стал в 1219 году первым предстоятелем ставшей самостоятельной Сербской Православной Церкви, он основал ее, укрепил и расширил, устроил сербское монашество по образцу афонского, направил сербское народное самосознание к высоким идеалам преданности святой вере православной до смерти. Монашеская жизнь в Сербии до наших дней определяется Типиком, составленным для нее святым Саввой. Чудотворные мощи святого Саввы были сожжены турецкими поработителями Сербии в 1595 году в отместку за восстание, поднятое сербами против них в 1594 году. Память этого страшного злодеяния до наших дней совершается сербами 27 апреля/10 мая, в храме святителя Саввы на Врачаре в этот день служится литургия архиерейским чином.

34 Династия Неманичей — это святой Симеон Мироточивый и девять его потомков, правившие Сербией примерно с 1170 года по 1371 год. В их правление Сербия была создана как государство, главным принципом которого была верность Православию, и пережила свой золотой век. Семь из десяти царей династии Неманичей сияют в лике святых: Стефан Неманя (преподобный Симеон Мироточивый; память 13/26 февраля), Стефан Первовенчанный (преподобный Симон Монах; память в день собора афонских святых), Владислав Сербский (память 24 сентября / 7 октября), Драгутин (в иночестве Феоктист; память 30 октября / 12 ноября), Стефан Милутин (память тогда же), мученик Стефан Урош III Дечанский (память 11/24 ноября) и мученик Стефан Урош V (память 2/15 декабря).

35 Жупан — титул южнославянских князей; жупы — древнейшее название областей или округов, на которые Сербия была поделена в военных целях. Жупан возглавлял свой народ и в мирное время, и в военных сражениях.

36 Деспот (греч. despТthj — «владелец, неограниченный повелитель, господин, царь») — титул сербских правителей, пожалованный им Византией в 1402 году, когда Сербия стала ее союзницей.