India, April 12 -- The way we adhere to cleanliness standards, or fail to, is often a reflection of what we perceive as socially acceptable, not what we understand to be necessary.

Cleanliness has traditionally been tied to order and discipline, usually showing up in the most obvious ways: a tidy home, a spotless office, or a neatly kept public space. We've come to associate these things with civility and a sense of social responsibility. But what if we've been thinking about cleanliness in too limited a way? We generally tend to equate cleanliness with a physical appearance-something we can see and touch-but in doing so, we may be overlooking something much more fundamental.

People often ask, "Why do individuals from India seem more co...