[Update] Pages with TOC are now working

Namaste,

It has been some time now since the Blog was updated. It came to my notice that many Links in the Horizontal Menu Bar are not working. These are TOCs (Table of Contents) of various labels. Today, I have managed to find a script and modify it so as to list posts of selected Labels. These links are now working.

Updated Pages are:

1. Kathamrita
2. Q and A
3. Bhakti
4. Meditation
5. TOC - Labels (sorted by Labels / Categories)
6. TOC - Date (Sortable TOC by Date and Label) - Recommended
7. Ramana Maharshi Life and Works (not in menu bar, but in side bar)
8. Advaita Vedanta Basics (not in menu bar, but in side bar)
9. Spirituality (not in menu bar, but in side bar)

Pages are not indexed by Blogger. Blogger allows maximum 10 Pages. 10th page which does not need to be updated is Guidelines for submitting Blogs to Spiritual Blogs of Note

(Other links like 'Quotes' are not Auto generated TOCs)

I personally recommend TOC - Date, as it is a sortable TOC in which reader can sort date-wise and filter posts tagged with a particular label. Instructions are provided on the page on how to use TOC

Since one post can have more than one label, hence the script categorize posts under label. Though it is confusing, script does not show posts that do not fall under selected Label.

Note: Wordpress has both categories and Labels. One category can have more than one label. Blogger uses the word 'Label' for 'Category'. Hence I use both words interchangeably.

Hope you find this useful.

For seekers, below information can be skipped. For interested readers who wish to know more about blogging and scripts, please continue to read

 

Some more info about Pages for interested Readers:

 

Pages are not indexed by blogger and hence they are not shown in archives. They are static pages which are either updated regularly like TOC or Index of Selected Posts that are manually updated by Blogger or static pages like 'About Us' or 'Contact Me' which technically do not fit into blog niche but are necessary. 

Pages have /p/ in URL after the main blog address 

(https://indiaspirituality.blogspot.in in our case)

For example, TOC - Date has URL - https://indiaspirituality.blogspot.in/p/table-of-contents-sorted-by-date.html

I myself do not periodically check links on the blog. Some links in the 'Downloads' Post (technically it's not a page) may have outdated or broken or missing links. 

Some details about scripts:

Indiaspirituality Blog also uses third party scripts which are freely available on net. Scripts are used in Auto generation of TOC. There are other scripts like Auto changing Quotes of the Day widget. 

There are two types of scripts (jscript or java script or HTML code)

1. First type of script is which is completely embedded into Blog's code. Whole script or code is available with Blogger, as in case of Quote of the Day widget / gadget like 'Gems of Gospel'. A responsible blogger will verify script before using it on blog as it may contain virus or a malware.
2. Second type is which has hotlinks. Coder may give a small script to embed into blogger's HTML. This script points to a hotlinked script which has full code. It is this script which a blogger has no control. 

Many bloggers are not programmers and they are dependent upon others for code. Blogger allows 3rd party scripts to be added. Blogger also has it's own gallery of gadgets, but at times, a blogger may not find what s/he wants. Hence we look for 3rd party coders. In case of part time blogger, especially in spiritual field like me are laymen and blog only as a hobby and not as a source of earning. Hence we try to minimize our expenses. Blogger gives space for free. Coders give useful scripts for free and in return we thank them by giving them recognition by back-linking to their post or blog  home page.

Though it looks all good here, some bloggers may not get enough encouragement or recognition of their hard work. Some bloggers who host script may loose interest in blogging their script stops working for some reason like discontinue to pay for server space, etc. 

Some times, scripts stop working as Google regularly updates Blogger interface and or one changes from HTTP to HTTPS (Secured Protocol) which increases safety of both bloggers and readers.

Due to shortage of time, I am not able to verify all the links. It has been more than nine years since the first post was published. As on today, the blog was 699 Posts (Including this post). 

Some info about Chances of being affected by Viruses and Malware

At times the server on which the code is hosted may get affected by virus or malware. It may affect blogger who use the code too. We we know, no security is bullef proof. Even Bank accounts and Bank servers are cracked.

Wordpress do not allow use of unverified 3rd party scripts. It mostly used and recommended by professionals as a better alternative to Blogger. Howeer, I am comfortable with blogger. To migrate a blog with about 700 posts is pretty much hectic.

Note: 

Hacking is a wrong terminology. Remember pirated softwares has cracks and not hacks. Hacker is a security expert who will to the reverse engineering and debug a software or a code, find loop holes, report it to the technical team and possibly give a patch to plug the hole. Since word Hacker is now-a-days is demeaned as it is used in place of 'cracker' hence Genuine Hackers identify themselves 'Ethical Hackers'. The word 'Hacker' has lost it's pride due to wrong use. Crackers, on the other hand, use their extraordinary knowledge for destructive purpose.

For extra cautious readers, 

I have a clone blog: 

https://indiaspirituality3.blogspot.com/ 

This is a private blog i.e. it is not indexed by Google. You cannot get email updates from this blog. It uses only 1 third party script - horizontal menu. Code is completely embedded into blogger. All other scripts like 'Google Custom Search' and 'Contributors' are provided by Blogger and are as safe as Google's other services like Gmail, Blogger and Google+

Thank you

Pranams