Why does justice (dharma) appear to be greater than God?

[A satsaṅga took place between Swami and several devotees who visited Him on January 16, 2021. Some of the questions of devotees answered by Swāmi are given below.]

[A question by Kum. Thrylokya]

Swāmi replied: Dharma (justice) appears to be the highest because God likes dharma. Dharma has no value by itself. It has got its value solely because of God. In pravṛtti (worldly life), dharma (justice) and adharma (injustice) stand for election against each other. You must vote only for dharma in pravṛtti. In nivṛtti (spiritual life), God and dharma stand for election against each other. Here, you must vote for God alone and not for dharma. In the Mahābhāratam, Lord Kṛṣṇa told Bhīma to tell a lie that Aśvatthāma was killed. Bhīma immediately did so, but the Kauravas did not believe Bhīma. So, the Lord asked Dharma Rāja, who was famous for his honesty to tell the same lie. But Dharma Rāja refused to tell a lie as he felt it was adharma. Hence, he voted for what he thought was dharma against God. Actually, what he thought of as dharma was really adharma. Hence, God had asked him to tell a lie, which would have been the real dharma. God is the protector of dharma and He is pleased if you follow dharma in worldly life. But what the real dharma is, should first be established upon deep analysis. The real dharma is known only to God.

★ ★ ★ ★ ★