Brahmacharyashrama (Hinduism)

This period of about 12 years training follows initiation at about 6 to 8 years old. The young boy becomes the full-time disciple of a religious master and is initiated into knowledge of the scriptures. During this time he observes celibacy, and knowledge is taken in with a spirit of surrender and worship. The initiation is referred to as the [upanayana]

ceremony when the boy is brought physically and spiritually near his guru. The ceremony includes the shaving of the head indicating removal of desires, and the wearing of the sacred thread, tied to indicate determination to unite the finite personality with the infinite self. The thread is also a symbol of the three states of mind or [gunas]

and the three states of consciousness (waking, dreaming and sleeping) to be transcended in turiya, realization.

This is the first of the four ashramas or stages of life according to Indian tradition, leading eventually to self-realization.