Canto 3 -
Araṇya-kāṇḍa
Chapter 74: Lord Rāma Visits Śabarī
Text 3.74.18
एवमुक्तः स धर्मात्मा शबर्या शबरीमिदम्।
राघवः प्राह विज्ञाने तां नित्यमबहिष्कृताम्॥
evam uktaḥ sa dharmātmā śabaryā śabarīm idam
rāghavaḥ prāha vijñāne tāṁ nityam abahiṣkṛtām
evam = this; uktaḥ = told; saḥ = He; dharma-ātmā = the dhārmika soul; śabaryā = when Śabarī; śabarīm = to Śabarī; idam = as follows; rāghavaḥ = Rāghava; prāha = spoke; vijñāne = spiritual realization; tām = who was; nityam abahiṣkṛtām = never without.
When Śabarī told the dhārmika soul Rāghava this, He spoke as follows to Śabarī who was never without spiritual realization.
1 Her spiritual realization was uninterrupted.
Though she was of lower birth, by the mercy of her spiritual masters she had attained spiritual knowledge. Therefore, it has been stated [here] that even the Supreme Personality of Godhead honored her.
GLOSS. She was never without spiritual realization, that is, she was always endowed with spiritual realization.1
NOTE. What is the effect of receiving spiritual knowledge from bona fide spiritual masters? Lord Kṛṣṇa describes it in Bhagavad-gītā 4.35:
yaj jñātvā na punar moham evaṁ yāsyasi pāṇḍava
yena bhūtāny aśeṣāṇi drakṣyasy ātmany atho mayi
“Having obtained real knowledge from a self-realized soul, you will never fall again into such illusion, for by this knowledge you will see that all living beings are but part of the Supreme, or, in other words, that they are Mine.”