The meaning of life is meaning.

Meaning is not something that is found in the world the same way mass, length, or volume is. These are physical properties of the universe that can be found in the outside world. Meaning is altogether different. It is not an objective property of the world like mass and length, but instead is a subjective property...something contained only in the minds of people.

The closest to "objective purpose" that humans can understand is survival. Like any animal we are strongly driven to keep our organic processes functioning...i.e. "stay alive." Our brains are designed from a time period that this was humanity's greatest concern. Our brain makes us feel hungry, fearful of danger, and all sorts of other emotions/feelings that cause us to seek out what is "good" and avoid what is "bad." It regulates the behaviors of the body to help that body survive.

The universe is the same way: the closest to "objective purpose" it gets is to continue existing, beyond that is only up to the person asking the question. The only meaning in the universe is the meaning we create. It helps to take a look at what makes it so fulfilling for humans to create meaning:

Our technologies and huge civilizations make modern living much easier then the time that the brain was developed for. The challenges of survival and safety are no longer provocative and are largely just far from our mind compared to our ancestors of years ago. So, the purpose of our life is not obvious for anyone anymore.

Many stop here..."If there is no objective purpose then why try?" People turn to religion or their culture to fill their lives with meaning, but these are unnecessary steps to creating life fulfillment.

Just because there is no inherent purpose doesn't mean we can't MAKE purpose. Hence, the meaning of life is meaning. Abraham Maslow detailed a 5-step structure of increasingly complex needs (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Maslow's_hierarchy ). When our reptile-like brains are satisfied with our safety and feel no immediate survival threat, then we move to our more chimpanzee-like social needs. When those are satisfied we only have the top two parts of Maslow's pyramid left: self-esteem and self-actualization. Self-actualization is caused by self-esteem, and self-esteem is fulfilled by "setting a challenge and rising to the challenge."

So the challenge in life becomes what we set it to become, and then meeting that challenge. Ultimately we become better versions of ourselves through achieving greater mastery and greater challenge, and this is called self-actualization for Maslow.

This works for civilization/humanity as a whole as well. Pitrim Sorokin divided up civilizations into three basic kinds, each categorized by the approach they take to finding "ultimate meaning." Basically he asked the question "How do cultures make meaning?"

His three categories were sensate, ideational, and idealistic. Sensate-oriented cultures (and modern capitalist cultures like the US are very sensate leaning) are ones that derive meaning from concrete, sensual experiences. What is considered "good" is that which is practical and/or ultimately leads to pleasure. Ideational cultures are a polar opposite, and typically shun physical pleasure in favor of living up to some abstract ideal. The Greeks valued courageous heroism as their highest ideal, and so would be a good example. Idealistic cultures basically are a mix of the two...more of a balance.

So when a culture is physically secure, it needs only to create challenges for itself and then rise to those challenges. Doing so causes the culture to change and become a new version of itself (actualization). The purpose of mankind as a whole still is purpose.

The universe has the same story attached to it. The universe has the meaning/purpose of whatever meaning/purpose we give it. Basically, the universe has purpose based on what we use it for. The opportunities it provides and the actions we take that fulfill us in life are the sole measurements of the universe's "meaning."