The waters were administered by one who was already pure. This was not done by hand; he who purifies the others ties a bundle of three stalks of hyssop. Each twig must have one bud, and he dips the tops of the buds into the solution in the vessel. He then uses the hyssop to sprinkle the water onto the persons or the vessel.
It was not necessary for a lot of the sanctified waters to be sprinkled on an impure person. Even a small amount of water was enough. Even if a tiny drop touched only his fingertip or lips, it would be enough.
All the people who are involved with the heifer and its preparation, from beginning to end, became impure from contact with it. The same was true about their clothes. They were required to immerse themselves in a mikveh, and wash their clothes in order to be pure again.
It is this concept - that the pure are rendered impure by the very same agent which brings purity to those who are lacking it - that is the mystery of the commandment, beyond the grasp of all understanding. For this is a profound paradox, that the same instrument can have opposite effects.
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