magnetism, life and purpose of life

Life’s purpose:
Ettan, my elder brother Devidas, is no more. To where did he pass away? Has he just ceased to be? Normally, these are too common place questions that have become mere clichés. But in the case of Ettan they seem very pertinent because he was a person who had studied and thought very deep into the purpose of life and existence, and also meditated to find them out. He seemed to have reached definite conclusions. Towards the end of his life he never seemed to have any doubts left.
The purpose of life is Nirvana, or liberation, say the Buddhists. It is Moksha, release from the bondage of the perpetual cycle of births and deaths, believe the Hindus. The purpose is to reach heaven and be near the Lord or be in God’s Kingdom after death, believe the followers of some other religion. For the existentialists the purpose is existence itself, living itself. For the atheists, there is either no purpose, or one need not bother about the purpose when one is to struggle for a living.
The purpose may be this, that or anything. But how am I going to find out? I don’t think it will be possible to find out by thinking and reasoning. The methods and capacities to do so are extremely limited. It can, if at all, be found only by looking inside myself, because the life, as I can feel, is actually there only, ticking. I have to find out first what life is before I proceed to find out the purpose. One has to look within and see what is there within oneself which make whole system function, and why. The purpose may then become self-evident. It has to be, for sure. The purpose may be, for all that, the process of finding out itself!
I believe that Ettan did fulfil his purpose, whatever it might have been.
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Magnetism and Life:
If the molecules/electrons in an iron rod are arranged in a particular way, unidirectional, the rod develops magnetism. If clusters of particular molecules or nucleotides are arranged in a particular helical pattern, a DNA is formed, and that could develop signs of life. Magnetism being a quality of matter when arranged in a particular pattern, can life be also similarly called thus a quality of matter? May be the arrangement is more intricate and complicated. But that does not take life away from being a quality of matter.
Life has, of course, awareness. We must conclude that awareness occurs when life is formed. Is awareness also therefore a quality of physical matter? The flaw in that argument would be that life as well as magnetism could be an entirely different entity (divine) that jumps into matter when matter forms into the required pattern!
Without my awareness nothing is existent for me. Not even the awareness in others. There could thus be only one awareness, and that is in me. But will that awareness still exist when I am dead? That is, when my DNA system is dismantled and life on earth becomes extinct, will any awareness still survive to jump into another DNA when opportunity arises? Can looking at the awareness within answer the question?