Upanayana. Brahmopadesha. Or by whatever name you call it. Has lost its meaning in today's world. It basically signifies the beginning of the austere life in a boy's life, wherein he begins his formal schooling in the Gurukula. His life at the Gurukula is highly disciplined, as in he practices strict Brahmacharya. Brahmacharya as in the total abstinence of all the worldly pleasures, right from the worldly thoughts, to the way of life. But today, this major phase of a man's life has been reduced to a mere symbol of being born a Brahmin, without 'being' one. A person who has entered this phase of life, need to practice strict abhorrence of all the material things. But these days, the upanayana samskara has been reduced to a mere lip service, without practically and truly understanding its significance. I attended one such ceremony some days ago. I found that the boy who was getting the Brahmopadesha, was hesitating to say out loud, the maxim of the ceremony - Bhiksham dehi. And also, he had 'consented' for undergoing the 'hardships' only after an agreement with his father that he shouldn't have his hair cut, as it is done, leaving only a small circle of hair at the centre of the scalp! All this, signified to a large extent, the snowballing decadence of the Indian society. Even after the upanayana, the boy seems to lead a diametrically opposite life style (as has been pointed out in one of the comments to this post) in the college life. In the due course of time, it may even so happen, that the boy may forget what Sandhyavandana is.