Amazing people

There is a tradition in India, when people visit temple and stand before a deity. They are expected to stand at a bit of distance, and stand just beside the two imaginary straight lines parallel to the door way of the sanctum sanctorum. (In most temples, some railings are put up suggestively. That only compounds my confusion… the ancient people didn’t need to be even told, whereas present day people have to be prevented with those railings, since mere words may not work!). Well, the reasons why we are ‘supposed’ to keep out of direct view of the deity, is altogether a different topic. But, I tried to look at “how do we experience ‘live’ and ‘amazing’ people whom we come across in our life?” (The next, is it that, only then, we become eligible to ‘experience’ the need to stand aside thus at a place of worship?)

When a question ‘expressed’ eagerness to know what we commoners look at as ‘amazing’ aspect in people, I could not help attempting an answer.

(The only consolation that I can hope is from the thought that if I were any less aware, I would have missed the ‘amazement-ingredient’ that they carried all along, so obviously!)

Psn(23rd July, 2010)

http://in.answers.yahoo.com/question/index?qid=20100722163011AAcBAEv
How many truley amazing people have you met in your life?
Describe what makes them a cut above the rest.

My answer:
Earliest one, my maths teacher. He compromised, scaling down from teaching post-graduate students, to just 7th class in our school! A wizard at concepts. When that simple 'office-boy' used to bring the list of fee-yet-unpaid-students, he used to pull out a few currency notes, thrust it into his hands, and request him not to interrupt the thought chain of maths! Very often we find mis-matched pair of slippers on his feet!(yes, he did not even bother about proper shoe-wear!). Very very fortunately, our Principal (headmaster) happened to value his knowledge and kept aside decorum/etiquette rules expected of teachers. Needless to add, the bulk of we students then found adequate reasons to worship even the ground that he walked upon!
..
Then on, I was fortunate to 'bump' into several of such kind of people very very special, in diverse fields of human expertise, with major and very noticeable commonality in all of them. Invariably their personal and self-oriented priorities were lowest in the ladder, and all of them were frantically in search of 'genuine' people to whom they can hand over the baton before they quit!
..
The highest amongst such people was my enlightened spiritual guide & master, whom I can call as 'personification and tangible form' of what we all can dream of as 'highest form of compassion'! (And, everything and anything that he does is invariably a 'cut above the rest).

(I have the least of hesitation in confessing that perhaps, I have been in the way of many better people who would have deserved far better than me to have the proximity of such people! This is not about 'trying humility', but, this is something, that I am painfully aware of!)