The Buddha explains how understanding the gratification, drawback, and escape in the four elements leads to personal experience and attainment of the goal of asceticism or brahminhood in this very life.
Samaṇabrāhmaṇa sutta - Ascetics and Brahmins
At Sāvatthi.
"Bhikkhus, there are these four elements. What four? The earth element, the water element, the fire element, and the air element. Bhikkhus, whoever among ascetics or brahmins do not understand, as they truly are, the gratification, the drawback, and the escape in regard to these four elements—they, bhikkhus, are not recognized by me as ascetics among ascetics or as brahmins among brahmins. Moreover, those venerable ones do not, in this very life, personally experience and attain the goal of asceticism or the goal of brahminhood through direct knowing and abiding in it.
"But bhikkhus, whoever among ascetics or brahmins understand, as they truly are, the gratification, the drawback, and the escape in regard to these four elements—they, bhikkhus, are recognized by me as ascetics among ascetics and as brahmins among brahmins. Moreover, those venerable ones, in this very life, personally experience and attain the goal of asceticism or the goal of brahminhood through direct knowing and abiding in it."