Wonderful Question! Does consciousness act? As per "Advaita" for the status of "Advaitm" it shouldn't! Why so? If it has to act, it will then require the substratum, medium or instruments to act! ( we can extend this list for any meaningful definition or scientific understanding of what "Action" or Kriya means). To uphold the "Advaitm" of Brahman, it is described and explained or promised as "nishKriya", "nirGuna" and "nishKala" Tattva. If anyone of these three compromised, the Brahman is no longer "Advaitm" as there is an external agency that require participation along with the subject "Brahman". Now, the question of nothing being "external" but yet, the so called "Dream" is going on in the substratum of Brahman itself will be the defense as many neo advaita describes this dream life as "bubble in the sea water where its all ONLY water and also all changes are with in the substratum of water"! This is "bedha" but to understand this example having two subjects, we need to understand what is essential for to be in "no difference" and in "non Difference" state.
No difference is not Advaitam unless it is qualified with "Absolute"! Water bubble is not "Absolutely different" from water, every one should agree. . Same time, water bubble is not sea or the substratum itself. Only few agree even though it warrants rational agreement with understanding. (Little more technical - What projected the Bubble out of the Sea water is not sea water itself but the combination of wind, earth rotation, salt and mineral content of the sea water etc. Likewise, "undivided Brahman or indivisible homogeneous Brahman cannot project a dream outside its own substratum with out an agent. If the agent is with in Brahman, then such agent then acts nullifying the nishKriya requirement and ultimately the Advaitm. The existence of such "dream" not in Brahman realized state warrants a differentiation separating "realized" from "unrealized" and that differentiation cannot be Brahman as the factor of difference cannot be part of Brahman as Brahman is nirGuna! The appearance of Bubble on the substratum of Brahman with the differentiation factor in, require the supportive "time" for its existence and the factor of time cannot be part of Brahman as it is nishKala which does not undergo the changes due to time!
But the contrary looks more rational and scientific as we witness and experience and also the Shruti support with legitimate and grammatical interpretations! Emphasizing the first part being rational and scientific as ourselves are witnesses, it just brings millions questions of attesting the "still not explained" Advaita philosophy as scientific and rational and that is the reason behind the questioning!
Hare Krshna!
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