Vulnerability

Beloved Osho, what is it, that when I sit in your presence tears start to run from my eyes? They are not tears of sadness or happiness. They come from an unknown space in my being, and they leave me open and vulnerable, as if I have just been born. And I find myself looking at the world with new and fresh eyes. Beloved Osho, would you please say something about tears.

Prem Madhu, tears are one of the most mysterious phenomenon in our life. Most people of are aware only of one dimension -- that of pain, suffering, misery, sadness. Few people are aware of a second dimension too: that when you are too happy, too blissful, tears come to your eyes. So tears are not confined to sadness and misery; they can be of joy, they can be of blissfulness. You are talking of a third dimension which is very rare. Very few people have ever come to know the third dimension. You are saying, "What is it, that when I sit in your presence tears start to run from my eyes? They are not tears of sadness or happiness. They come from an unknown space in my being, and they leave me open and vulnerable, as if I have just been born. And I find myself looking at the…

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, 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, 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…