According to Osho, tears are the language of the inexpressible; whenever feelings exceed words—pain, ecstasy, love, or profound silence—they overflow as tears. They communicate directly, heart to heart: in children, unspoken needs; in seekers, gratitude and reverence. Because words shrink living experiences, tears become a beautiful, wordless poetry that softens others, opens connection, and expresses what cannot be said.
Tears are how our hearts speak when feelings are too big for words—whether we’re hurt, joyful, loving, or deeply quiet.
From the Discourses
Passages where Osho speaks to this question — each links to the complete discourse.
My beloved master,please accept my love. Beloved master, when a person weeps it is usually sad, but your sannyasins also weep when they are happy. Would you like to talk to us about tears? 2
Tears have a language of their own. The language is: anything that cannot be expressed through words overflows through tears. If you are in immense pain, tears may come. If you are in immense ecstasy, tears may come. If you are deep in love, tears may come. If you are in profound silence, tears may come. Tears can come on many occasions, but one thing will be similar on each occasion: whatever is happening within you is something that cannot be expressed through words. Children weep because they want their parents to fulfill some of their demands which they are afraid to say. They are afraid that the answer may be no. They cannot bring their demand into words because they don't want to be rejected, they don't want to be ignored. Tears come to their eyes, and the parents understand their tears better than their words. And the tears…
Osho, when I listen to you, every word sinks to the depths of my heart and stirs me. But when I read you, it remains a mental game. Please tell me why this happens.
It’s plain. The arithmetic is simple. When you read, only you are there; I am not. What you read is nothing but you. It becomes a game of the mind. When you listen to me, then sometimes—knowingly or unknowingly—I also slip into you. You seldom give such a chance, but now and then a lapse happens on your side. Unaware, you leave the door a little open—and I come in. So when you are hearing me, it’s a different matter. That is why truth has always been spoken, not written. It cannot be written. Even speaking it is very difficult, yet it can still be said—at least a little can be said, a little news can be given. Because in speaking, many elements are involved that are lost in writing. When you read a book, the book is dead. A book cannot create an atmosphere around you. A book has…
Osho, why does love for the Lord make one mad?
People ask me: Where is the heart? One day a young man asked, “Where exactly in the body is the heart located?” I said to him, “Your head is inside you; you are inside the heart.” The heart is not inside you. Do not mistake these lungs, pumping air, for the heart—they are only an apparatus for purifying air. You are within the heart. The heart is bigger than you. The head is smaller than you. The web of thoughts that spreads inside the head—that is yours, your private world. It is not the world of truth; it is the world of falsity, the world of dreams. The moment your energy slips out of the noose of the head— the moment you step outside the head—the courtyard of the Vast opens: the courtyard of your heart. It is as vast as the sky. Within you lies a sky as immense…
Osho, the moment I arrived here, intellect turned into heart and words into silence. While listening to you, my heart sometimes begins to flow as tears. I am doubtful whether this state will remain when I return home. Kindly explain how this state can be stabilized.
First thing: a human being has nothing more sacred than tears. There is no prayer greater than tears. People have known only one form of tears—tears of sorrow. But there is another form—tears of joy. Very few have known it; very few ever come to know it. When you see someone crying, you think he must be unhappy, in pain, wounded, burning. Not necessarily. Tears flow whenever any feeling becomes so intense that you cannot contain it—any feeling. If sorrow grows too much, it overflows as tears. If happiness grows too much, it too overflows as tears. Great pain flows out and lightens the heart through tears; great bliss also flows out as tears. So first, do not tie tears inextricably to sorrow. Deep down our minds have been conditioned to think tears come because of suffering. So we hide them, we hold them back. We try hard that tears…
Osho, just hearing your voice, my tears start to pour. Then why does a prayer not arise such that only the prayer remains and I do not? Why does the world still entice just as much and call me toward itself? Are these tears merely crocodile tears?
What you said that day— as if those words were not words: they were trees, they were dwellings, they were persons. Sometimes beneath them, sometimes within them, sometimes clasping them, I live. And even if I turn away from them for a while, their shade comes and touches me morning and evening. What you said that day— as if those were not words, they were trees, dwellings, persons. What I am saying to you is not mere saying. I am not telling a tale; I am speaking the anguish of your life. And I am indicating the way to go beyond the anguish of your life. And beyond your life’s anguish there is a treasure; I am reminding you of it. My words are an invocation, a call—to take you on the journey to the Vast, if you consent to move. If tears have begun to come, it means your…