Besides having the identification with reflected consciousness, I-ness also has identification with the body and also with Cit-Consciousness. Next verse shows us how is the connection start between the mind i) with reflected consciousness, ii) with the body, and iii) with the śaksi ātmā.
ahaṅkārasya tādātmyaṃ cicchāyādehasākṣibhiḥ ।
sahajaṃ karmajaṃ bhrānti janyaṃ ca trividhaṃ kramāt II 8 II
There is (a triple) identification of the I-ness: i) with reflection of Consciousness, ii) with body and iii) with the Witness. Natural, born of past actions, and delusion-born. These are the three types respectively.
Ahankara - I-ness is having the identification - tādātmyaṃ with three things.
First, there is an identification of I-ness with reflected consciousness. This identification is permanent and inseparable. As we saw from the example of water as a medium for the reflection of the sun to be happened, in the same manner, whenever the mind is there, the reflected consciousness is also exist in the same time. Therefore this identification is permanent and inseparable - sahajam (come with it), causes the experience of "I know". Whenever I-ness is there, I am as the knower is always there. How about at the time of deep sleep state while mind resolves? The resolution of the mind in deep sleep is not total. Even though there is no activities on the mind (no thought), but I-ness is passively there. Therefore the very next day from deep sleep, we know we slept well. This identification is said to be permanent because even at the time of dissolution of the creation, the I-ness and reflected consciousness exist in the potential form like in deep sleep. Therefore deep sleep is said to be mini pralaya - dissolution of the world.
Second, there is an identification of the I-ness of the mind with the body. The inert body becomes alive because of having close association with the mind which illumined by reflected consciousness. This mind left the body at the time of death. But how about the manonāśa - destruction of the mind by the jñāni - liberated person? If it is so, the liberated person become no mind, and as we know if the mind leaves the physical body, he/she as good as dead. The mind here means ahankara - I-ness. Destruction here is not in literary sense, it is means that the sense of I (individuality) is no more there, because for a jñāni, only non-duality is there. This identification is having association at the time of birth, where the prārabdha karma start, and dissociation at the time of death, where the prārabdha karma end. Therefore this identification is born of karma - karmajam, causes the experience of "I am a human".
Bhagavan Krsna refers to this dissociation-association In Bhagavad Gita 2:22,
"Just as a person gives up old clothes and takes up new ones, so does the self, the one who dwells in the body, gives up old bodies and takes others which are new."
The self who dwells in the body here is refer to the I-ness. At the time of death, it gives up one body and takes another new one. It stays for a length of time and giving up again and takes up another new body again. Because of the cyclic process, the numbers of the body in the verse 2:22 itself is shown in plural.
Third, the identification between I-ness and Cit-Consciousness which is called witness here. There is no association at all between mind and Consciousness, because they are belong to the different reality. Mind as the product of manifestation is belong to the vyāvahārika satta - experiential reality, and Consciousness is belong to paramārtika satta - absolute reality. Just like one cannot get married with one who he/she comes across in the dream. Therefore there is no relationship possible. But why this identification is there? Because of delusion - bhrantijanyam, causes the experience of "I am".
Next verse shows how these identifications end.
sambandhinoḥsatornāsti nivṛttiḥ sahajasya tu ।
karmakṣayāt prabodhācca nivartete kramādubhe II 9 II
i) The connection with reflected Consciousness cannot be annihilated, as it is natural; ii) by exhaustion of Karma, and iii) by direct knowledge, the other two respectively can be eliminated.
The identification between I-ness and reflected consciousness cannot be eliminated, because as long as I-ness is there, then the reflected consciousness will be there. On the other hand, the identification between I-ness and body will end when one's prarabdha karma is exhausted. Last, the delusion caused identification between I-ness and Consciousness end when the correct knowledge take place. I-ness is illusory, it cannot have connection with Consciousness, just like illusory snake can never have connection with the robe. They are belong to different reality.
Verse 8th and 9th give us answer, why a jīvanmukta - liberated person is still can operate his body if the I-ness is no more there. Because the association between the I-ness and body will end only at the end of prarabdha karma. Even though the liberated person still need to go through his/her prarabdha, but he/she will not get any emotional up and down which caused by ignorance. Because for jñāni, only non-duality is there, I-ness doesn't have the reality by it's own. Therefore the identification between I-ness and reflected consciousness even though can not be separated, but when I-ness is not taking as real, therefore the identification is also not real. In result there is no doer-ship - kartrtva and enjoyer-ship - bhoktrtva on the part of a jñāni. How a jñāni is indifference described by Sri-Krsna in Bhagavad Gītā 2:56,
"the one who is not effected by adversities, who is without yearning for pleasures, and is free from longing, fear and anger, is said to be a wise person whose knowledge stays (unshaken)."
Next three verses explaining how I-ness dwells in the three states of experience.
ahaṅkāralaye suptau bhaveddeho'pyacetanaḥ । ahaṅkāravikāsārdhaḥ svapnaḥ sarvastu jāgaraḥ II 10 II
i) When the mind is in absorption in deep sleep, there is no consciousness of the body and mind; ii) the I-ness is in its semi-conscious state is dream; iii) it fully manifests in the waking.
Mind goes through three states of experience - avasthātrayam. When the mind is passive in the deep sleep state - susupti-avasthā, there is no consciousness of the body and the mind (thought). This state sometimes is called mini pralaya - resolution of the world, because even during resolution of the world, all the body are no longer exist, but individual mind is still be there in the dormant causal form - karana-śarira. Then they will get individual bodies again based on their prarabdha karma at the time of new creation. Therefore when the mind goes to sleep daily, is said to be the prarabdha of the day ends. When the mind is partially active without supporting of sense organs, it is called dream state - svapna-avasthā. In this state, mind projects an inner world based on the memory, where senses as the connected factor with the outer world are not required. When the mind is fully active with the support of sense organs experiences the external world, it is called waking state - jāgrat-avasthā.
The mind in this verse is pointing out I-ness, but how big the I-ness can manifest is depend on the thought part of the mind.
From the verse 7th to 10th discuss about the I-ness part of the mind. Now verse 11th is explanation for the thought part of the mind.
antaḥkaraṇavṛttiśca citicchāyaikyamāgatā । vāsanāḥ kalpayet svapne bodhe'kṣairviṣayān bahiḥ II 11 II
The thought modifications of the inner equipment, by their identity with reflected Consciousness, project impressions in the dream state and, in waking, project objects outside with the eyes.
There is a word ca - and, indicates the identification with the reflected consciousness applies in I-ness is also being applied here in the thought part of the mind. And because of this identification, the thought gains sentiency. This thought with the reflected consciousness alone is said to be cognition / knowledge / experience - vrtti-jnānam.
Waking state is where the external world being projected by thought through senses. In the dream state, the senses are not functioning, thought is projecting from the memory - vāsanā of past experiences either from this life or even past life. And in the deep sleep state, there is absence of thought projection, therefore I-ness experiences nothingness. Therefore we say that we don't know a thing in the next day, it is not because we were not there, but because I-ness experiences absent of experience.
Question arises here. One can say that internal world is projected by thought, but how come this verse says that external world also is projected by thought? Isn't it mean if the thought is not present, then world becomes not exist? We know that the world is created by Īśvara - the Lord, called īśvara-śrstih, and the thought in every individual mind is called jīva-śrstih. How come external world is presented also as the projected by individual?
It is true that Īsvara has created the world, but this world after being perceived by individual becomes no more the same. Every individual has his/her I-ness which make every individual different to others. Because of this I-ness - ahankara, then the my-ness -mamakara is there. These two factors contribute the like and dislike, joy and sorrow, while I relate with the external world. Therefore the external world is no more objective as it is in the perception of every individual. The world as it is doesn't create any problem, it becomes problem when it is in the eyes of individual. This is called samsara, which is caused by individuality / I-ness, where the root is ignorance. Therefore ācārya said that the external world is projected by the thought of individual, he mean the world of samsara - jīva-śrstih.