Is enlightenment an illusion?

Agree. Very well put.
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A quote from Ramana Maharshi that's something along those lines (and my personal fav):

"Wanting to reform the world without discovering one's true self is like trying to cover the world with leather to avoid the pain of walking on stones and thorns. It is much simpler to wear shoes."

I will attempt to revive this thread called 'IS ENLIGHTENMENT AN ILLUSION.'

Reading through so many posts, it becomes very clear that if there is something called Enlightenment, there is no consensus definition of it that everyone can and will accept. This is an easy problem to analyze because each of us works from only concepts based on what we've read/heard, or, experienced. Is there anything outside of your experience that you can know? Can you know Truth, God, or anything other than your Self? What do you think your Self is? How many of you have really looked into this deeply? If you are looking for the needle in the haystack you will not find your Self. What you are is everything you can cognize. In other words, we are Consciousness itself. You cannot separate Self and Consciousness. One comes with the other. Can anyone deny this? Everything you see, feel, hear, etc., is Consciousness. It is all a reflection of your Self. The statement You Are The World rings very true when you see that there is nothing but your Self. Without you, nothing else exists.

To search for Enlightenment, which is not knowable in any possible way for a human being who has a Self, is an illusion. I said 'the search for' enlightenment is an illusion. There may be something called enlightenment but what does that have to do with YOU. YOU are a bunch of definitions and perceptions that can't experience anything outside of itself. Intuition, mystical experience, Kundalini, samadhi are all experiences happening to the Self, but the Self remains.

This posits the question, 'Can the Self cease to be?' Trillions of books have discussed the subject with every possible position gone over a zillion times. If the Self ceases to be, everything you know and experience, all consciousness of anything at all on any level, also ceases to be. In other words, It's your death. The Self cannot survive and experience Enlightenment. As my friend UG said so often, 'this is not something you want'. You can't want this because it would be the end of you. Can anyone understand this?

Yes.

But why should the self not become "enlightened?"
So, it is the destruction of self which is an illusion. That's fine by me: all this running away from self seems to me to be often just escapism, which is hardly enlightenment of any sort.

You have to start with what the Self is. Once you understand what it is, you realize it can never know anything but itself, information and memory. Some of that information and memory are very necessary for living, but, the psychological is all from the past via experience.

I'm not sure what you mean by the destruction of self is an illusion. Some think Self is all mental concepts, ego, reflection. In that sense, it may be an illusion. But, what I was referring to seems quite real at present. In fact, so real that all we see is Self. But the reason we are talking about all of this is because there have been people throughout history who have talked of another way of living. A way of living without Self. It is expressed in every religion and permeates our cultures and lives. My point is, if there is something like enlightenment, Truth, God, and all of these Teachings do point to something, it is the sense of Self which obscures it.

Most people will try to get rid of this Self, change it in some way. It's futile. Every action you do is part of the Self and is YOU. You fight against yourself. You try to alter yourself with different ways of thinking, breath control, mantra, what have you. When you begin to understand this dilemma, your efforts against yourself begin to stop. Self is Consciousness. Can you go beyond Self and Consciousness? You cannot answer this question because you won't be there to know. It is the end of Self and all knowing as the Self currently knows. No body wants to end themselves.

The search for enlightenment is not an illusion, it is beyond the grasp of the individual - what you refer to with that tired metaphysical turnip "Self". Human consciousness is extended, extensible and self-regenerating. It will continue to be as long as we survive, and it will be considered enlightened when we are all aware of how important our consciousness is to our own survival and that of our living - and thus by extension conscious - world. Thus not only is the search for enlightenment real, it is essential. Of course it does begin with finding yourself, which sadly many can no longer do.

If "enlightenment" is destruction of self, then yes, enlightenment is an illusion.

I'm agreeing with you ...I think

I'm not sure what you are talking about, Nick. I have no way of knowing what enlightenment is except from reading or hearing what others have said. I do know what Self is. And, I do see the impossibility of knowing anything outside of myself. So, where is the illusion?

If "enlightenment" is destruction of self, then yes, enlightenment is an illusion.

One of dem words of perplexment sahib.

Everything is, or nothing is? Most see the world as completely solid, others - the dance of shakti. Mirages may be illusory, but they still exist isn't it; the enlightening thing may be not to chase them

Actually, they do, don't they? Just the tricks of heat and layers of air cause light to bent in such a way that something is "seen" that is actually a long way off.

The enlightenment is in understanding what's going on.

Not chasing them seems to be the beginning of some understanding but certainly not understanding what Self is. To say 'everything is, or nothing is' is still only a concept used for communication. What is more relevant is to understand that you can't know what anything is because what you are looking at is only a reflection and not the thing itself. It is part of the thinking process and gives continuity to the sense of Self. Babies don't know what a tree is. They are taught it, just like you are taught your name. When you say your name, you are NOT looking at yourself. We have no way of looking at ourselves. You are looking at the reflection of thought. The Indians call this Maya, the creative aspect of Self. They cannot be separated. To understand Self is to see this occurring. How fully we see this may lead to or open up something else. Intuition may be a key here to somehow link to Reality. But, even intuition is a Self-centered activity that is not capable of knowing or experiencing Truth. That sacrificial fire will burn everything we know.

You just explained what a mirage is. Now try to explain what Self is. I think you will need more than one line answers to these questions. Or, possibly, no-line answers?
Isn't it clear to you that something profound is taking place? The creation of the universe as well as yourself is a profound mystery to most people. You can't reduce it to analogy or metaphor and expect that you've arrived at some kind of understanding.

I wonder why you think it isn't clear to me! The only way in which I ever try to "reduce" anything is to make it a matter of common sense and simplicity.

It is indeed very profound that a mirage is not a hallucination, but can be explained. I wonder what enlightenment is, if it is not understanding what is going on. To quote my teacher (again): there are no miracles, there are only things we don't understand.

You have said (approximately) that, whatever, the self is involved; without the self we are not enlightened but dead. I agree entirely. However, of course there are different levels and aspects to self, of which the nattering of the ego is but one. Even the psychologists can tell us this, before we even begin on anything that might be labelled spiritual.

One liners? It's just that I prefer spirits to beer. Woops! Another analogy!

Perhaps it's the English predilection for wit that reduces things to one-liners. or TV?

Just to clarify: When I say death or dissolution of Self, it does not necessarily mean death of the body. Because I cannot speak of what life might be like without Self, I can never speak about or define enlightenment. So, in a sense, enlightenment is illusory when thought about from the viewpoint of Self, i.e., speculation.